Staghorn Sumac Lemonade (Overnight Tea)

Published: Aug 3, 2024 Modified: Aug 3, 2024 Author: Alan Bergo

Peak summer can be hot and muggy in the Midwest. It's the perfect time to make homemade staghorn sumac lemonade, which is basically infused sumac tea. Ice cold, tart and refreshing, this is a classic recipe foragers of any age and skill level can make. While it's one of the easiest things to make, there's a few tricks to making a really good version that might surprise you.

A glass of staghorn sumac lemonade or sumac tea on a board next to clusters of staghorn sumac fruit and leaves. — Sumac-aid is a cold, sour drink perfect for summer.

Chef's Tips

First, you want to make sure you have staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) and not poisonous sumac (Toxicodendron vernix). An easy way to tell the plants apart is that poison sumac has white fruit, where staghorn sumac has attractive, red clusters of fruit that are densely packed.

A bright red, perfect cluster of staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) seeds. — A perfectly ripe cluster of staghorn sumac seeds in late July.

The sour taste of staghorn sumac comes from an acidic coating on the seeds. I've heard people say it's malic acid, ascorbic acid, and a mix of acids. Whatever's on them, it's very sour. The acidic coating is easily rubbed off on your hands and can also be washed off by the rain.

A hand covered in red acid dust from handling staghorn sumac fruit. — My hand covered in sticky, sour sumac particles.

It also means that if you have cuts on your hands you'll want to handle the clusters of fruit with gloves. Possibly the most important thing to know is that you want to avoid clusters that look washed out as in the infographic below.

An infographic showing the difference in color between 3 clusters of staghorn sumac fruit to illustrate how the rain can wash away the sour taste. — Sumac-rain infographic.

Taste both the outside fruit, and those from the inside to make sure they're very sour for the best result. Following that, the seed clusters should never be washed before making lemonade.

A hand breaking apart a staghorn sumac seed cluster showing the inside is brighter in color and more sour than the outside. — If sumac has been rained on, the inner seeds may still have a good taste.

Sumac lemonade is made from a cold infusion. It should not be made with boiling water or by cooking the seed clusters. Cooking the clusters of fruit will make the drink unnecessarily astringent, ruining it, in my opinion.

If you want to make instant lemonade you can pulse the seeds and water with a hand blender. The tradeoff is using a hand blender will bring out a little astringency, but nowhere near as much as cooking the fruit. It's a good trick I learned from my friend Lorenzo.

Buzzing a jar of sumac berries and water with a hand blender to make quick sumac lemonade — Blending sumac and water to make quick sumac lemonade in minutes.

Lastly, staghorn sumac is related to mangoes and cashews, so people who are allergic to those plants are at a higher risk of being allergic to sumac.

How to Make Staghorn Sumac Lemonade

First the sumac clusters are broken up and the seeds are removed. While some people will simply put the whole clusters in water, this won't give the strongest tasting result as the inner seeds (which can be some of the most sour) have less contact with water. I like to remove the stems by hand, but you can also cut the seed clusters up with a scissors to make it easier.

Sumac clusters being cleaned next to a pile of cleaned sumac seeds on a baking sheet. — Removing sumac seeds from the stems ensures the best infusion.

Cutting up clusters of staghorn sumac seeds with a scissors. — Cutting sumac seed clusters with a scissors.

The image below shows sumac lemonade after 24 hours made 3 ways: picked seeds, whole clusters and sumac powder. The darkest color and flavor is from seeds removed from the stems.

An image comparing sumac lemonade made from individual seeds, powder, and whole clusters of seeds after twenty four hours. — Comparing infusions of sumac after 24 hours.

To make the infusion the sumac seeds are mixed in a container with cold water. I like to add aromatic herbs like anise hyssop, lemon balm, or mint to add flavor. You'll leave the sumac lemonade out on the counter or in the fridge overnight, stirring occasionally to help release the acidic coating from the seeds.

Pouring water into a jar of red staghorn sumac seeds. — Pouring water onto sumac seeds.

Adding fresh anise hyssop and lemon verbena leaves to a jar of sumac lemonade. — Adding fresh herbs to the lemonade.

A gallon jar filled with staghorn sumac seeds, water and anise hyssop. — Allow the lemonade to infuse for 24 hours, or at least overnight.

Next taste a spoonful of the lemonade. If you want it more sour, add some extra sumac seeds. After 24 hours the lemonade is strained. You want to use cheesecloth or a very fine mesh strainer here to ensure that none of the small, irritating hairs are left in the lemonade.

Straining staghorn sumac lemonade through a double thickness of cheesecloth in a chinois strainer. — Straining the finished lemonade.

After straining, pour the lemonade into a large container like a gallon mason jar. Sweeten it with maple syrup, sugar or honey and a small amount of fresh lemon juice. You can also add more herb sprigs for flavor and an attractive look.

Pouring staghorn sumac lemonade into a gallon jar for storage. — Pouring sumac lemonade into a fresh container.

Pouring maple syrup into a jar of staghorn sumac lemonade. — Sweeten the lemonade with maple syrup to taste.

Adding fresh lemon juice to a jar of sumac lemonade. — Add the fresh lemon juice.

Chill the lemonade and serve it on ice with a few fresh herbs stuck in the glass to garnish.

A glass of sumac lemonade garnished with ice and anise hyssop surrounded by fresh staghorn sumac leaves and red seed clusters. — Serve the lemonade in glasses with ice, herbs and lemon.

Do you make sumac lemonade? Feel free to drop any tricks or advice you have in the comments.

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