sumac (summāq)

Ingredients

sumac fruit, water, gum arabic, vitriol

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Experimental replication used 30 g of sumac spice in 180 g of water, heated to a boil. Although the recipe says to cook 'until the red appears', the red color appeared immediately and the solution became pink-brown after 15 minutes of cooking. After straining through gauze, 12 g of gum arabic was added and allowed to dissolve for one day. Finally, 6 g of vitriol was added, causing the liquid to blacken immediately (p. 140).

Evidence

"I then added the vitriol and the liquid blackened immediately. After 6 g, the solution was very dark with some nuances of red-violet."

Remarks

Historical authors like ibn Bādīs and al-Malik al-Muẓaffar categorized this ink as a 'coloured ink', likely assuming its red fruit source would produce red ink and neglecting to test the effect of adding vitriol (p. 141). In contrast, al-Marrākušī correctly identified it as a black ink (p. 141). After ageing, the sample turned extremely black (Fig. 7.2 C).