Ingredient

Za'atar

Za'atar means two things, and the ambiguity causes constant confusion. It is a herb — a wild Levantine relative of oregano, thyme and marjoram — and it is a blend built around that herb with sumac, sesame seeds and salt. When a recipe says za'atar it almost always means the blend.

The herb and the blend

The herb — Origanum syriacum and its relatives, sometimes called Syrian oregano or biblical hyssop — grows wild across the Levant and tastes like a cross between oregano, thyme and marjoram, more savoury and less sharp than any of them. It has been gathered and eaten there for a very long time, and gathering it is culturally significant in a way that does not survive translation onto a supermarket shelf.

The blend takes that herb, dries and crumbles it, and adds sumac for sourness, toasted sesame seeds for fat and crunch, and salt. Some blends add cumin, coriander seed, dried thyme, oregano, marjoram or savory.

Outside the region, many commercial za'atars contain no Origanum syriacum at all, substituting ordinary thyme and oregano because the wild herb is scarce and in places protected. That is worth knowing when a blend tastes thinner than one you had somewhere else.

The regional blends

There is no single correct za'atar, and the differences are real.

Lebanese

Heavy on sumac, so noticeably red and sour. Generous with sesame. The one most exported.

Palestinian

Often more herb-forward and greener, sometimes with caraway. Frequently coarser.

Jordanian

Similar to Palestinian, sometimes with more sesame.

Syrian

Often includes more spices — cumin, coriander seed, sometimes anise or fennel.

Turkish

The word refers to the herb more often than to a blend, and blends vary widely.

Family blends

Households across the region have their own proportions, frequently made from herb gathered or grown themselves. The idea of a definitive recipe is a supermarket idea.

How to use it

• Manakish — flatbread dough spread with za'atar mixed into olive oil and baked. The definitive use, eaten for breakfast across the Levant.
• With olive oil, as a dip, alongside bread. Za'atar and good oil in a shallow dish is a complete thing.
• On labneh, yoghurt or fresh cheese, with oil.
• On roasted vegetables — cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, aubergine — scattered after roasting rather than before, so the sesame does not burn.
• On chicken and lamb, rubbed on before roasting or grilling.
• On eggs, fried, scrambled or boiled.
• On tomatoes and cucumber, with olive oil and salt.
• Through a salad dressing, or over hummus.
• On flatbread, pitta or focaccia, brushed with oil.

Buying and keeping it

The signals are much the same as for sumac. Good za'atar looks green and red and beige in visible proportions — you should be able to see the herb, the sumac and the sesame as separate things. A uniform brown-green powder has been ground too fine or is mostly filler.

Smell it. It should be aromatic, herbal and faintly sour. Blends that are mostly salt and flour smell of very little.

Read the ingredients. Salt should not be near the top of the list, and wheat flour or breadcrumb has no business in it at all, though it turns up in cheaper products.

It keeps a few months in a sealed jar away from light. The sesame is the part that goes first — it contains oil and eventually goes rancid, which is the usual reason an old jar tastes stale and slightly bitter. Buy small quantities, from a Middle Eastern grocer if you have one.

Common questions