Dried barberry ✦

Épine-vinette séchée (zereshk)

What it is

Almost all of Iran’s zereshk comes from one corner of South Khorasan around Qaen, where the seedless bush has been cultivated for roughly two centuries. The berries are dried in the shade rather than the sun, which is the whole reason they stay scarlet instead of going brown.

In the kitchen

Soak them ten minutes, then bloom them in butter for thirty seconds and no longer — a minute and they blacken and turn bitter. A pinch of sugar in the pan rounds the acidity without making them sweet.

Goes with

Rice Saffron Butter Pistachio Chicken Almond Onion Lamb

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