A Journey Through Mediterranean Spices

One coastline, a thousand spice racks

Mediterranean food isn't a single cuisine — it's a conversation between Greece, the Levant, North Africa, and Turkey, carried for centuries along spice routes that linked the region to India and beyond. What unites it is a way of seasoning: spices used to brighten and deepen, never to bury the ingredient. At Greens N Grills, a handful of these spices do the heavy lifting on every plate we serve, from our shawarma plates to our salad bowls.

Sumac: the original sour

Long before lemons reached Europe, Roman cooks soured their dishes with sumac — the crimson, tangy berry of the Rhus coriaria shrub that grows wild across the Mediterranean. Ground sumac tastes like cranberry and citrus at once, without any liquid. That's why it's the classic finish for fattoush, grilled onions, and kebabs: acidity with no sogginess.

Look for its rusty-red dusting on our Greek Salad and Mediterranean Salad — it's what makes the first bite taste bright.

Za'atar: a spice, an herb, and a habit

Za'atar confusingly names both a wild thyme-family herb and the famous blend built around it: dried thyme and oregano, toasted sesame seeds, sumac, and salt. The herb has been gathered in the hills of the Levant for millennia — many scholars link it to the biblical hyssop — and the blend eaten with olive oil and warm bread remains a daily ritual from Beirut to Amman.

The classic pairing is simple: dip warm pita in good olive oil, then in za'atar. It's also remarkable on hummus — try it over our Hummus & Pita, or read our guide to making perfect hummus to build the base yourself.

Cumin: four thousand years of earthiness

Archaeologists have found cumin seeds in Egyptian sites dating back thousands of years — it was used both in cooking and in mummification, and it's mentioned in the Old Testament. Warm, earthy, and slightly bitter, cumin is the backbone of falafel, the anchor of shawarma marinades, and the quiet workhorse in most kofta.

When you taste our Falafel — crisp outside, herb-green inside — that deep savory note underneath the herbs is toasted cumin doing its job.

Aleppo pepper, coriander, and the warm spices

• Aleppo pepper (pul biber) from Syria and southern Turkey brings a gentle, fruity heat — more raisin than fire — that finishes grilled meats beautifully.
• Coriander seed, cumin's constant partner, adds a citrusy floral lift to marinades and falafel.
• Cinnamon and allspice show up where visitors least expect them: in savory rice and meat dishes, a legacy of Ottoman kitchens. Blends like Lebanese seven-spice (baharat — simply "spices" in Arabic) wrap them into one warm profile for grilled and braised meats.

How we use them on the grill

Spices behave differently over live fire. Whole seeds are toasted to wake up their oils; ground spices go into marinades, where time does the work. Our kebab marinades lean on cumin, coriander, garlic, and Aleppo pepper — then the char adds the final "spice" of all, smoke. For the technique side of that equation, see Grilling the Perfect Kebab.

Taste the map

The fastest way to understand these spices is side by side: a Combo 2 Meat Kebab plate with rice, a scoop of hummus, sumac-dusted salad, and warm pita covers half the Mediterranean in one sitting. Feeding a group? Our catering platters serve eight and travel well. And if you're curious how this kitchen came to Union City, our story starts in a family kitchen with these same jars.