Za'atar

Za'atar (Arabic: زَعْتَر‎ za‘tar, also romanized zaatar, za'tar, zatar, zatr, zattr, zahatar, zaktar or satar) is a generic name for a family of related Middle Eastern herbs from the genera Origanum (Oregano), Calamintha (Basil thyme), Thymus vulgaris (Thyme) and Satureja (Savory).[1] It is also the name for a condiment made from the dried herb(s), mixed with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices.[2] Used in Arab cuisine, both the herb and spice mixture are popular throughout the Middle East.[3][4]

Contents

Etymology

Written history lacks an early definitive reference to za'atar as a spice mixture, though unidentified terms in the Yale Babylonian Collection may be references to spice blends.[5] According to Ignace J. Gelb, an Akkadian language word that can be read sarsar may refer to a spice plant. This word could be attested in the Syriac satre, and Arabic za'atar (or sa'tar), possibly the source of Latin Satureia.[6] Satureia (Satureja) is a common name for satureia thymbra, a species of savory whose other common and ethnic names include, "Persian za'atar", "za'atar rumi" (Roman hyssop), and "za'atar franji" (European hyssop).[7][8]

Thymus capitatus (also called Satureja capitata), is a species of wild thyme, also known as za'atar farsi (Arabic: "Persian za'atar"), it is found throughout the hills of the Levant and Mediterranean Middle East.[9] Thyme is said to be a plant, "powerfully associated with Palestine," and the spice mixture za'atar is common fare there.[10] Thymbra spicata, a plant native from Greece to Israel, has been cultivated in North America by Syrian and Lebanese immigrants for use in their za'atar preparations since the 1940s.[11]

Another species identified as "wild za'atar" (Arabic:za'atar barri) is Origanum vulgare, commonly known as European oregano, oregano, pot marjoram, wild marjoram, winter marjoram, or wintersweet.[12] This species is also extremely common in Israel and the Palestinian territories, and is used by Palestinians to make one local variety of the spice mixture.[13]

Other Latin names for the herbs called za'atar in Arabic include Origanum syriacum (also known as Bible hyssop, Syrian oregano and wild marjoram) and Origanum majorana (sweet marjoram).[14] Both oregano and marjoram are closely related Mediterranean plants of the Lamiaceae family, so it is unsurprising that they could be used interchangeably.[13]

Preparation and variations

Za'atar is generally prepared using ground dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, or some combination thereof, mixed with toasted sesame seeds, and salt, though other spices such as sumac might also be added.[13] Some commercial varieties also include roasted flour.[15] Traditionally, housewives throughout the Fertile Crescent, Iraq, and the Arabian peninsula made their own variations of za'atar, which was unknown in North Africa.[16] Recipes for such spice mixtures were often kept secret, and not even shared with daughters and other relatives. This general practice is cited by Western observers of Middle Eastern and North African culinary cultures as one reason for their difficulties in determining the names of the different spices used.[16]

Some varieties may add savory, cumin, coriander or fennel seed.[17] One distinctively Palestinian variation of za'atar includes caraway seeds, while a Lebanese variety sometimes contains sumac berries, and has a distinct dark red color.[18][19] Like baharat (a typically Egyptian spice mix of ground cinnamon, cloves, and allspice or rosebuds) and other spice mixtures popular in the Arab world, za'atar is high in anti-oxidants.[19]

Za'atar, both the herb and the condiment, is popular in Armenia, Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey.[3][20][21][22]

History

There is evidence that a za'atar plant was known and used in Ancient Egypt, though its ancient name has yet to be determined with certainty.[23] Remains of thymbra spicata, one variety used in modern za'atar preparations, were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, and according to Dioscorides, this particular species was known to the Ancient Egyptians as saem.[11][23]

Pliny the Elder mentions an herb maron as an ingredient of the Regale Unguentum ("Royal Perfume") used by the Parthian kings in the 1st century CE[24][25] Saadiah (d. 942), Ibn Ezra (d. circa 1164), and Maimonides (1135–1204) identified the ezov mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the Arabic za'atar.[26] Along with other spiced salts, za'atar has been used as a staple in Arab cuisine from medieval times to the present.[27][28]

Za'atar has historical significance for Palestinians, some of whom see the presence of za'atar as the signifier of a Palestinian household.[29] For Palestinian refugees, plants and foods such as za'atar also serve as signifiers of the house, village, and region from which they hailed.[30]

Once used mainly by Arab bakeries,[31] za'atar is now a common herb in Israeli cuisine.[31] Some Israeli companies market za'atar commercially as "hyssop" or "holy hyssop." Hyssopus officinalis is not found in the wild in Israel, but Origanum vulgare is extremely common.[13]

Ecologists found that wild za'atar was on the verge of extinction in Israel due to over-harvesting. In 1977, an Israeli law was passed declaring it a protected species.[31][32] Violators are subject to fines. Some Arab citizens of Israel (who traditionally picked the wild herbs[32]) have described the legislation as "almost anti-Arab."[33] The ban on picking wild za'atar is also enforced in the West Bank. In 2006, za'atar plants were confiscated at IDF checkpoints.[34][35]

Culinary use

Za'atar is traditionally dried in the sun and mixed with salt, sesame seeds and sumac.[34] It is commonly eaten with pita, which is dipped in olive oil and then za'atar.[34] When the dried herb is moistened with olive oil, the spread is known as za'atar-wu-zayt or zeit ou za'atar (zeit or zayt, meaning "oil" in Arabic and "olive" in Hebrew).[18] This mixture spread on a dough base and baked as a bread, produces manakeesh bi zaatar.[36] In the Middle East, ka'ak (a soft sesame seed bread, known as ka'akh in Hebrew), is sold in bakeries and by street vendors with za'atar to dip into or with a za'atar filling.[37][38][39]

Za'atar is used as a seasoning for meats and vegetables or sprinkled onto hummus.[40] It is also eaten with labneh (yogurt drained to make a tangy, creamy cheese), and bread and olive oil for breakfast, most commonly in Jordan, Israel, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as other places in the Arab world.[10][29][41] The Lebanese speciality shanklish, dry-cured balls of labneh, can be rolled in za'atar to form its outer coating.[21]

Fresh za'atar, the herb itself, rather than the condiment, is also used in a number of dishes. Borek is a common bread pastry that can be stuffed with various ingredients, including za'atar.[21] A salad made of fresh za'atar leaves (Arabic: salatet al-zaatar al-akhdar) is also popular throughout the Levant.[10] The recipe is a simple one consisting of fresh thyme, finely chopped onions, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.[10]

A traditional beverage in Oman consists of za'atar steeped in boiling water to make an herbal tea.[42]

Medicinal use

In the Levant, there is a belief that za'atar makes the mind alert and the body strong. For this reason, children are encouraged to eat a za'atar sandwich for breakfast before an exam[43] or before school.[34] Maimonides (Rambam), a medieval rabbi and physician who lived in Spain, Morocco, and Egypt, prescribed za'atar for its health advancing properties.[44][45]

References

  1. ^ Allen, 2007, p. 237.
  2. ^ Aliza Green. "Za'atar". CHOW. http://www.chow.com/recipes/10607. Retrieved 2008-03-09. 
  3. ^ a b Rozanne Gold (July 20, 1994). "A Region's Tastes Commingle in Israel". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/20/garden/a-region-s-tastes-commingle-in-israel.html?scp=5&sq=za'atar&st=cse. 
  4. ^ Florence Fabricant (October 28, 1992). "Food Notes". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/28/garden/food-notes-565392.html?scp=6&sq=za'atar&st=cse. 
  5. ^ Kaufman, 2006, p. 29.
  6. ^ Gelb, 1956, p. 74.
  7. ^ Allen, 2007, p. 230.
  8. ^ Faculté de Médecine de Paris, 1818, p. clxxviii.
  9. ^ Basan, 2007, p. 196.
  10. ^ a b c d The Poetry Society, 2006, p. 5.
  11. ^ a b Gardner, 2004, p. 326.
  12. ^ "Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database: Sorting Origanum names". Michel H. Porcher, University of Melbourne. http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Origanum.html. Retrieved 2009-08-28. 
  13. ^ a b c d Philologos (April 28, 2006). "Za'atar: On Language". Forward. http://www.forward.com/articles/1326/. Retrieved 2009-08-28. 
  14. ^ Seidemann, 2005, p. 365.
  15. ^ http://www.ziyad.com/pages/ProductDetail.asp?ProdId=297
  16. ^ a b Heine, 2004, p. 69.
  17. ^ Roberts, 2000, p. 84.
  18. ^ a b "Recipes of the West Bank Olive Harvest". November 21, 2007. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16530921. Retrieved 2008-03-14. 
  19. ^ a b Nabhan, 2004, p. 88-89.
  20. ^ Jennifer Bain (August 15, 2007). "The zing of za'atar". The Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/246267. Retrieved 2009-08-28. 
  21. ^ a b c Savill and O'Meara, 2005, p. 273.
  22. ^ http://books.google.ca/books?id=K_vDAu6UoSwC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=za'atar+palestinian+territories&source=bl&ots=xtRPU0_pbf&sig=-daaVg2y7bH6srbXMrtigh6Oor0&hl=en&ei=Y-zeS-H6NcH68Abt-pH9BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=za'atar%20palestinian%20territories&f=false
  23. ^ a b Manniche, 1989, p. 150.
  24. ^ This is usually rendered as English marum (defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as Thymus mastichina or Teucrium marum), but Dalby interprets this as Origanum syriacum and translates it as zatar; Dalby, 2000, p. 189.
  25. ^ Dalby, 2002, p. 108.
  26. ^ Isser, 1976, p. 99.
  27. ^ Basan, 2007, p. 27.
  28. ^ Dorothea Bedigian (September 2004). "History and Lore of Sesame in Southwest Asia" (abstract). Economic Botany 58 (3): 330–353. doi:10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0330:HALOSI]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0013-0001. http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1663%2F0013-0001(2004)058%5B0330%3AHALOSI%5D2.0.CO%3B2&ct=1. 
  29. ^ a b Marin and Deguilhem, 2002, p. 69.
  30. ^ Lien and Nerlich, 2004, pp. 148–149.
  31. ^ a b c "Hyssop: Adding Spice to Life in the Middle East". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1998-07-01. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel%20beyond%20the%20conflict/Hyssop-%20Adding%20Spice%20to%20Life%20in%20the%20Middle%20East. 
  32. ^ a b "A mixup over a biblical herb". http://www.haaretz.com/culture/food-wine/a-mixup-over-a-biblical-herb-1.76099. Retrieved 2008-03-14. 
  33. ^ Vered, Ronit. "Forbidden Fruit". Ha'aretz. http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=964053&contrassID=2&subContrassID=6&sbSubContrassID=0. Retrieved 2010-11-22. 
  34. ^ a b c d Swedenburg, 2003, p. 59.
  35. ^ "The Palestinians: It is the little things that make an occupation" (PDF). Economist magazine. 20 January 2007. p. 64. http://www.linktv.org/sitecontent/explore.org/research/middleeast/Its%20the%20little%20things%20that%20make%20an%20occupation.pdf. 
  36. ^ Carter et al., 2004, p. 68.
  37. ^ Lebanese Writers Offer Alternate Views of Beirut, Jacki Lyden, March 5, 2005, NPR
  38. ^ A Short History of the Bagel, Joan Nathan, Slate Magazine, Nov. 12, 2008
  39. ^ Cheshin et al., 2001, p. 14.
  40. ^ Joan Nathan (November 9, 1996). "Diversity in the dining room helps ring in Israel's new year". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1996_1364906. Retrieved 2008-03-09. 
  41. ^ Ray, 2004, p. 154.
  42. ^ Marshall Cavendish, 2007, p. 309.
  43. ^ Aglaia Kremezi. "Zaatar". Recipe Zaar. http://www.recipezaar.com/65710. 
  44. ^ Za'atar Pita Bread recipe
  45. ^ Marks, 2010, p. 630

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