Za'atar

Closeup image of za'atar spice mixture, a blend of herbs, sumac, sesame and salt
Origanum syriacum, in springtime

Za'atar[a] (/ˈzɑːtɑːr/ ZAH-tar; Arabic: زَعْتَر, IPA: [ˈzaʕtar]) is a culinary herb or family of herbs. It is also the name of a spice mixture that includes the herb along with toasted sesame seeds, dried sumac, often salt, as well as other spices.[1] As a family of related Levantine herbs, it contains plants from the genera Origanum (oregano), Calamintha (basil thyme), Thymus (typically Thymus vulgaris, i.e., thyme), and Satureja (savory) plants.[2] The name za'atar alone most properly applies to Origanum syriacum, considered in biblical scholarship to be the ezov of the Hebrew Bible, often translated as hyssop but distinct from modern Hyssopus officinalis.[3]

Used in Levantine cuisine, both the herb and spice mixture are popular throughout the Mediterranean region of the Middle East.[4][5]


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  1. ^ Aliza Green. "Za'atar". CHOW. Archived from the original on 2008-02-03. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  2. ^ Gary Allen (1 October 2010). The Herbalist in the Kitchen. University of Illinois Press. pp. 237–. ISBN 978-0-252-09039-4. OCLC 1066441238.
  3. ^ Based on the Judeo-Arabic translation of the word in the works of Rabbi Saadia Gaon (in his Tafsir, a translation of the Pentateuch, Exo. 12:22); Al-Fasi, D. (1936), vol. 1, s.v. אזוב; Ibn Ǧanāḥ, Yonah (1896), s.v. אזב - aleph, zayn, bet; Maimonides (1967), s.v. Nega'im 14:6; and Nathan ben Abraham I (1955), s.v. Uktzin 2:2. The problems with identification arise from Jewish oral tradition where it expressly prohibits Greek hyssop, and where the biblical plant is said to have been identical to the Arabic word, zaatar (Origanum syriacum), and which word is not to be associated with other ezobs that often bear an additional epithet, such as zaatar farsi = Persian-hyssop (Thymus capitatus) and zaatar rumi = Roman-hyssop (Satureja thymbra). See: The Mishnah (ed. Herbert Danby), Oxford University Press: Oxford 1977, s.v. Negai'im 14:6 (p. 696); Parah 11:7 [10:7] (p. 711).
  4. ^ Rozanne Gold (July 20, 1994). "A Region's Tastes Commingle in Israel". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  5. ^ Florence Fabricant (October 28, 1992). "Food Notes". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2014.