AIVA - Lebanon Za'atar Thyme Seasoning, 1 Pound

zaatar has been a staple since forever, and I've used this particular brand for...more than three decades? definitely found it sometime in the '80s and never looked back. there are several versions; the lebanese is my favorite and this is the only commercial brand I like. needed to restock and didn't have time to get to the local middle-east market, saw it on amazon and bought two bags (plus some sesame seeds. I always add more sesame seeds).when it arrived I wasn't thrilled. it's not in the packaging shown here on amazon, it's more brown than green, and it's "pulverized" rather than ground. contacted the seller who assured me it's the very same zaatar, and offered a refund if I don't like it. so I heated a steel pan, tossed about half a cup of the (organic) sesame seeds into the hot pan, swirled them until they were toasted, then mixed them with one bag of this zaatar in my usual container.put a huge scoop in a bowl, added olive oil, made a fresh piece of flatbread...and enjoyed a very satisfying meal. it's "my zaatar." so happy to find this on amazon! but I like to support local businesses so will try to buy it from my usual seller whenever possible, however at least I now know I can get it here "in an emergency." and any time there's no zaatar in the house it's "an emergency."zaatar is known as "brain food." in cultures for which it's a standard, it's given to kids before school and they eat a lot of zaatar before tests. I definitely feel "brainier" when I eat zaatar most days. maybe that's all in my head. har har but whatever. I love the taste, and the "act." it's kind of my version of a japanese tea service. don't know why it's called a seasoning and have never used it as such. it's (with bread and olive oil) a meal. a delicious, nutritious meal.

I wanted to make manakish for a pot luck at my school as the students are not used to Arab cuisine. I found this zaatar. For anywhere between $12-$16 for only a pound of zaatar, you would expect this to be one of the best which is what attracted me to it....but I can say that upon making a test run of manakish for my husband and I with this zaatar I was pretty disappointed. I was excited after reading reviews that claimed this to be the more tart version of Zaatar (Unlike the Ziad brand which tends to me more mild, earthy flavored) and the few saying it was like the real zaatar from back home.....MY HUSBAND AND I ARE FROM LEBANON and I can say this didn't taste like the zaatar from back home.I am a fan 100% of the more "tart" blends because that is the true taste, but this zaatar was not just "tart".... this Zaatar was WAY over salted, which made my stomach feel sick after only a couple manakish, and you had to avoid eating or drinking anything besides water with it or be salted out. Also, the texture after cooking was very unpleasant. While chewing you find little crunchy grains of what FEELS like eating sand. You know that feeling when you eat at a beach and you crunch down on a glassy/teeth grinding little piece of sand?? Yeah, I am not sure if it was the sesame seeds or some grain/part of herb not properly ground up But it was very unpleasant to be chewing and crunch down on what felt like sand. It happened during several bites and on several of the manakish that me AND my husband ate.If the blend hadn't been so salty i may have given it a better review....maybe the crunchy/sandy texture was just a bad batch?? i don't know. In all fairness, I used vegetable oil for the first batch because I ran out of olive oil and I have heard that Vegetable oil tends to have a lower smoking point so perhaps it over cooked the sesame seeds (Although its a SLIGHT chance because the manakish were not burnt at all) Either way I DID NOT END UP MAKING THIS FOR MY POT LUCK BECAUSE I WAS EMBARRASSED.Sorry, I really wanted to like this. But not only is it WAY over priced, the blend is over salted.I much rather prefer the taste of a zaatar I bought most recently off ebay from Hechem's Nuts and coffee. Although very overpriced as well, the taste is that "Tart" flavor that I was looking for that was not over salted and had a very nice texture. The price was the only thing that made me give that brand of Zaatar a 4/5 star rating.I will not be buying this again.

My order of za'atar arrived today. I'd only read reviews about it along with information on other websites. I love middle eastern food along with Indian and thought I'd give this a shot based on its Amazon reviews. I simply mixed a tablespoon with a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese then spread inside half a pita bread and sprayed with some olive oil. This has to be one of the best new flavors I have had in years! I'll admit it's not for everyone but the flavor of the spices, salt along with the tartness of the sumac is heavenly! It makes a great low-cal afternoon snack coming in at about 130 calories if you mix a tablespoon of za'aatar with a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese then spray/spread 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil over either a 4" pita bread or a 6" cut in half. Now spread your za'atar/cheese mixture over the top or inside the pita.Other reviewers have tried it, said it was OK, but didn't know what to do with their remaining pound. I can tell you for a fact that my pound will not be wasted! I plan on putting it on my chicken for dinner tonight. Well, not the entire pound...:)

My wife is Lebanese and I've come to know Za'atar pretty well (both in the U.S. and in Lebanon) over the years. In Beirut, it's become a bit yuppified; there are mills you can go to where they will grind up your own favorite mixture with much fuss and hoopla. But if you like the traditional Lebanese style, forget all that. This one is the real thing.In response to some other reviews and some questions, (1) The package I got was sold by Shootadeal and fulfilled by Amazon, and was fresh. (2) It is indeed quite salty and has a higher proportion of sesame seeds than other blends I've had; but I like it this way. Also, high sumac content, which adds to the tartness and which I also like. (3) As has been mentioned, a traditional use is to mix with olive oil to the consistency of mud and then spread onto a pita, usually over labne (basically yoghurt with most of the liquid removed). For a true multicultural experience, however, and to contribute to world peace, spread onto a bagel over cream cheese. :-)