Za’atar, a spice blend popular throughout the Middle East, is ideally a blend of hyssop, sumac, sesame seeds, salt, and other seasonings. Jewish food historian and cookbook author Gil Marks notes that hyssop appears frequently in the Bible, playing an especially prominent role in the Passover story, where Jews were instructed to add hyssop to the blood they smeared on their doorposts. Sumac, the dried and ground red berry that lends za’atar its distinct tanginess, is referenced in the Talmud

as a cultivated spice. More…