by Daniella Ashkenazy

Today, hyssop (Majorana syriaca L.) is basic to the pantry of local Arabs, eaten on freshly-baked pita bread dipped in olive oil and even chewed by the handful by some. The herb reminiscent of marjoram is prized not only for its flavor and aroma. Hyssop has been ascribed with a host of medicinal attributes, including a reputation as a cure for stomach aches.

Most zaatar is consumed as a condiment, made by blending the distinctive aromatic coarse brownish green powder produced by grinding hyssop leaves with olive oil, toasted sesame seeds, sumac, chickpeas, and wheat.

Geographically, Israel is a hyssop center. The plant is native to the hill regions of the ancient Land of Israel and parts of Lebanon and southern Syria, and can also be found in small quantities in the arid hill regions of Jordan. Over-harvesting in modern times, though, has nearly denuded Israel of wild zaatar. As a result, the plant was declared a protected species in 1977. Under Israeli law, offenders risk fines of up to $4,000 or six months imprisonment for picking commercial quantities. The statute now allows each household to pick ten kilograms of hyssop leaves annually for home consumption; still, it is estimated that a large rural family can polish off a kilogram of the prepared condiment in a week. Local Arabs alone consume an estimated 200 metric tons of the condiment annually. At present, the plant has not yet recovered from over-harvesting, say conservationists.

According to Dr. A. E. Putievsky, an expert in herbs at the Volcani Agricultural Institute, the herb had been harvested not only for home consumption, but was also exported to the rest of the Middle East and North Africa. The opportunity for export, dwindling supplies, fear of fines, and rising standards of living which would allow consumers to buy ready-made zaatar instead of gathering the leaves and preparing the mix at home, all contributed to the domestication of zaatar.

Dr. Putievsky spent eight years screening varieties of zaatar for high yield and strong aroma and streamlining labor-heavy harvesting procedures. In the early nineties, when commercial growing began, the manufacturing and packaging of the herb was done in a small corrugated shed in a moshav in the Galilee; the business catered primarily to local Arabs. It has since grown into a full-scale business that includes a large Jewish clientele.

For Israeli Jews, zaatarused to be an exotic treat associated with visits to Arab bakeries. Today, commercial production has made it an integral element in Israeli cuisine. Zaatar is not only eaten with bread but also used to season meat, as a topping on spreads and even sprinkled on salads. Distinctive 100-gram pyramid-shaped containers,which retail at about $1.30 each, can be found on spice racks in any supermarket.

Israeli zaatar is also being "exported" by residents of Arab countries who visit the country. For years, all zaatar was confiscated by customs officials at the border when visitors left, under the assumption it was contraband, gathered illegally in the wild. Once commercial production began, though, rules were changed to allow tourists to take home commercially-produced zaatar.

Today, fresh zaatar once harvested only in the spring is grown the year round in the Galilee, under drip irrigation. Even the back-breaking job of picking the leaves has changed: they are now harvested with a combine. The leaves are then dried in special ovens; some is mixed with other ingredients to produce the popular condiment. According to Nativ Dudai, a colleague of Dr. Putievsky, there are indications that zaatar is being also grown commercially in the areas under Palestinian self-government.

Dr. Putievsky believes the the economic potential for export of zaatar is excellent. It is already exported to Western countries such as Canada, England, and the United States, which have large Arab communities. Jordan also constitutes a natural market for export, just over the border. But the potential market extends over the entire Middle East. "Israel has domestic varieties which are superior to wild hyssop, developed through eight years of systematic screening. And we have the agro-technology to harvest unlimited quantities as a field crop," clarifies Dr. Putievsky."The domesticated variety has a stronger aroma and under artificial irrigation yields 1.6 tons of dried leaves per acre annually. The problem is not growing, but marketing. The traditional market for zaatar is extensive," he concludes. "It extends from Syria and Iraq to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and across North Africa."