Sumach herb is a shrub up to 3 in (10 ft) high growing wild in the Mediterranean region and southeast Asia on stony banks high up above the seashore. It is grown for its sour fruits in southern Italy and Sicily.
The wild species are native to that land and the number of Chinese varieties is enormous. Even older, by a thousand years, are the inscriptions on a tablet of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, where the radish (surmaia) is listed together with various other vegetables. Either is was introduced from here to China or else the Chinese began cultivating it on their own, independent of the Egyptians. Radish is also mentioned by Dioscorides in connection with its use in medicine.
Until recently there was no doubt that the predecessor of the present-day radish was Raphanus sativus, the oldest wild species of the genus, but now many authorities are proving that today's radishes are derived from another wild species of the same genus, namely R. raphanistrum. Be it as it may, the present selection of radishes includes many forms differing in size, colour and shape. All, however, have a pleasant flavour, pungent in some and less so in others, for which reason they are classed as a seasoning.
They are used sliced on bread and butter, chopped or grated in salads and as an accompaniment to cheeses and salamis. They arc best eaten raw. Radishes are wholesome, for besides mustard oil they contain Vitamins B and C and many mineral substances.
The juice is used to flavour salads and the powder in various dishes, mainly fish. Sumach herb may also be used with stewed poultry, vegetables and roast meat. Because of its high tannin content sumach is a suitable ingredient in fatty foods, promoting digestion and checking diarrhoea.
Nowadays the hips are used by the pharmaceutical industry primarily as a source of Vitamin C. The hips of the ramanas rose (Rosa rugosa), which are much larger, arc used for the same purposes - 15266
The wild species are native to that land and the number of Chinese varieties is enormous. Even older, by a thousand years, are the inscriptions on a tablet of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, where the radish (surmaia) is listed together with various other vegetables. Either is was introduced from here to China or else the Chinese began cultivating it on their own, independent of the Egyptians. Radish is also mentioned by Dioscorides in connection with its use in medicine.
Until recently there was no doubt that the predecessor of the present-day radish was Raphanus sativus, the oldest wild species of the genus, but now many authorities are proving that today's radishes are derived from another wild species of the same genus, namely R. raphanistrum. Be it as it may, the present selection of radishes includes many forms differing in size, colour and shape. All, however, have a pleasant flavour, pungent in some and less so in others, for which reason they are classed as a seasoning.
They are used sliced on bread and butter, chopped or grated in salads and as an accompaniment to cheeses and salamis. They arc best eaten raw. Radishes are wholesome, for besides mustard oil they contain Vitamins B and C and many mineral substances.
The juice is used to flavour salads and the powder in various dishes, mainly fish. Sumach herb may also be used with stewed poultry, vegetables and roast meat. Because of its high tannin content sumach is a suitable ingredient in fatty foods, promoting digestion and checking diarrhoea.
Nowadays the hips are used by the pharmaceutical industry primarily as a source of Vitamin C. The hips of the ramanas rose (Rosa rugosa), which are much larger, arc used for the same purposes - 15266
