Sumac grows wild in the hillsides of Southeastern Turkey in the city of Gaziantep, close to neighboring pistachio orchards. Since sumac is not cultivated, the harvest is done by villagers in the months of July and September — one person can collect up to 100 pounds of sumac berries per day (including the weight of the branches). Some villagers collect sumac casually, as they come across the bushes, and other villages do the foraging work on a seasonal basis.
After the ripe sumac fruits are harvested, they are laid out to dry in a sunny, airy environment. Once dried, the fruit shells are separated out, and the fruit is ground with table salt and allowed to cure.
Since sumac grows wild, seasonal variations in the color and appearance of the finished spice are to be expected!
