Salep
Encyclopedia
Salep is a flour made from grinding the dried tubers of the orchid genus Orchis
(including species Orchis mascula and Orchis militaris). These tubers contain a nutritious starch-like polysaccharide
called glucomannan
. Salep flour is consumed today in beverages and desserts, primarily in Turkey and in places that were formerly part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. The term salep may also refer to any beverage made with the salep flour.
and Germany
before the rise of coffee
and tea
and it was later offered as an alternative beverage in coffee houses. In England, the drink was known as "saloop". Popular in the 17th and 18th centuries in England its preparation required that the salep powder be added to water until thickened whereupon it would be sweetened then flavored with orange flower or rose waters. Substitution of British orchid roots, known as 'dogstones', were acceptable in the 18th century for the original Turkish variants.
The beverage sahlab is now often made with hot milk instead of water, and is sometimes referred to as Turkish Delight
, though that name is more commonly used for lokum
. Other desserts are also made from salep flour, including salep pudding and salep ice cream
. The Kahramanmaraş
region of Turkey
is a major producer of sahlab known as Salepi Maraş.
The popularity of sahlab in Turkey has led to a decline in the populations of wild orchids. As a result it is illegal to export true salep out of the country. Thus, many instant sahlab mixes are made with artificial flavoring.
The Ancient Romans
also used ground orchid bulbs to make drinks, which they called by a number of names, especially satyr
ion and priapiscus
. As the names indicate, they likewise considered it to be a powerful aphrodisiac.
In Greece sahlab is also consumed, where it is usually sold on the streets as a hot beverage during the cold months of the year.
, the famous toxicologist, wrote: "Behold the Satyrion root, is it not formed like the male privy parts? Accordingly magic discovered it and revealed that it can restore a man's virility and passion".
In Joan Aiken
's novel Is
, saloop is mentioned as conferring long life.
The liner notes
to the Aphrodite's Child
album 666 include the note that the work "was recorded under the influence of 'sahlep'". The album, carrying the Number of the Beast
as its name, was boycotted by certain radio stations, with as a possible contributing factor that the word sahlep was interpreted by Fundamentalist Christians as the name of a drug, a demon, or a black-magic sect.
In Rick Riordan
's book The Red Pyramid
, the Ancient Egyptian
goddess Nut
offers the main character sahlab.
In Jude Watson
's book Beyond the Grave
, the main characters are served sahlab at their hotel.
Salep is recommended for infants and invalids suffering from
chronic diarrhoea and bilious fevers. In the German Pharmacopoeia, a mucilage of salep appears as an official preparation.
Orchis
Orchis is a genus in the orchid family . This genus gets its name from the Ancient Greek ὄρχις orchis, meaning "testicle", from the appearance of the paired subterranean tuberoids....
(including species Orchis mascula and Orchis militaris). These tubers contain a nutritious starch-like polysaccharide
Polysaccharide
Polysaccharides are long carbohydrate molecules, of repeated monomer units joined together by glycosidic bonds. They range in structure from linear to highly branched. Polysaccharides are often quite heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of the repeating unit. Depending on the structure,...
called glucomannan
Glucomannan
Glucomannan is a water-soluble polysaccharide that is considered a dietary fiber. Glucomannan is a food additive used as an emulsifier and thickener. Products containing glucomannan, marketed under a variety of brand names, are also sold as nutritional supplements for constipation, obesity, high...
. Salep flour is consumed today in beverages and desserts, primarily in Turkey and in places that were formerly part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. The term salep may also refer to any beverage made with the salep flour.
Consumption
, , , , , , , was a popular beverage in the lands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Its consumption spread beyond there to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
before the rise of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
and tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
and it was later offered as an alternative beverage in coffee houses. In England, the drink was known as "saloop". Popular in the 17th and 18th centuries in England its preparation required that the salep powder be added to water until thickened whereupon it would be sweetened then flavored with orange flower or rose waters. Substitution of British orchid roots, known as 'dogstones', were acceptable in the 18th century for the original Turkish variants.
The beverage sahlab is now often made with hot milk instead of water, and is sometimes referred to as Turkish Delight
Turkish Delight (disambiguation)
Turkish Delight is a candy.Turkish Delight may also refer to:* salep, hot beverage popular mainly in Turkey* Fry's Turkish Delight, chocolate sweet* Turkish Delight by Jan Wolkers* Turkish Delights...
, though that name is more commonly used for lokum
Lokum
Lokum or Nokul is a type of puff pastry. Lokum is a type of pastry eaten in Turkey and Bulgaria with variations. Lokum is sometimes served hot as an appetizer instead of bread.It consists of a rolled sheet of yeast dough onto which a feta,walnut or poppy seed is sprinkled over a thin coat of butter...
. Other desserts are also made from salep flour, including salep pudding and salep ice cream
Dondurma
Dondurma is the name given to ice cream in Turkey. Dondurma typically includes the ingredients milk, sugar, salep, and mastic. It is believed to originate from the Turkish region of Kahramanmaraş and hence also known as Maraş Ice Cream.- Description :Two qualities distinguish Turkish ice cream:...
. The Kahramanmaraş
Kahramanmaras
-Industry:Kahramanmaraş's industry is mainly based on textile and ice cream. Kahramanmaraş is one of the biggest textile industry cities of Turkey. Companies like Kipaş, İskur, Arsan and Bozkurt are one of the richest companies in the city...
region of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
is a major producer of sahlab known as Salepi Maraş.
The popularity of sahlab in Turkey has led to a decline in the populations of wild orchids. As a result it is illegal to export true salep out of the country. Thus, many instant sahlab mixes are made with artificial flavoring.
The Ancient Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
also used ground orchid bulbs to make drinks, which they called by a number of names, especially satyr
Satyr
In Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus — "satyresses" were a late invention of poets — that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing....
ion and priapiscus
Priapus
In Greek mythology, Priapus or Priapos , was a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his absurdly oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism...
. As the names indicate, they likewise considered it to be a powerful aphrodisiac.
In Greece sahlab is also consumed, where it is usually sold on the streets as a hot beverage during the cold months of the year.
Cultural references
Of salep, ParacelsusParacelsus
Paracelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
, the famous toxicologist, wrote: "Behold the Satyrion root, is it not formed like the male privy parts? Accordingly magic discovered it and revealed that it can restore a man's virility and passion".
In Joan Aiken
Joan Aiken
Joan Delano Aiken MBE was an English novelist. She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers, including her father, American poet Conrad Aiken , her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge and her brother John Aiken Joan Delano Aiken MBE (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English novelist....
's novel Is
Is Underground
Is Underground is the eighth book in the series of novels by Joan Aiken normally called the Wolves Chronicles and sometimes the James III sequence. Where previous books have followed the characters Bonny, Sylvia, Simon and particularly street-urchin Dido Twite, this marks the first appearance of...
, saloop is mentioned as conferring long life.
The liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
to the Aphrodite's Child
Aphrodite's Child
Aphrodite's Child was a Greek progressive rock band formed in 1967, by Vangelis Papathanassiou , Demis Roussos , Loukas Sideras , and Anargyros "Silver" Koulouris . Their band's name was derived from the title of a track from another Mercury act, Dick Campbell, from his Sings Where It's At album...
album 666 include the note that the work "was recorded under the influence of 'sahlep'". The album, carrying the Number of the Beast
Number of the Beast
The Number of the Beast is a term in the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, that is associated with the first Beast of Revelation chapter 13, the Beast of the sea. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the Beast is...
as its name, was boycotted by certain radio stations, with as a possible contributing factor that the word sahlep was interpreted by Fundamentalist Christians as the name of a drug, a demon, or a black-magic sect.
In Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan
Richard Russell "Rick" Riordan, Jr. is an American author best known for writing the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He also wrote the Tres Navarre mystery series for adults and helped to edit Demigods and Monsters, a collection of essays on the topic of his Percy Jackson series...
's book The Red Pyramid
The Red Pyramid (novel)
The Red Pyramid is a 2010 fantasy adventure novel based on Egyptian mythology written by Rick Riordan. It is the first novel in The Kane Chronicles series, which tells of the adventures of modern day fourteen-year-old Carter Kane and his twelve-year-old sister Sadie Kane, as they discover that they...
, the Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
goddess Nut
Nut (goddess)
In the Ennead of Egyptian mythology, Nut was the goddess of the sky.-Goddess of the sky:...
offers the main character sahlab.
In Jude Watson
Jude Watson
Judy Blundell, better known by her pseudonym Jude Watson, is an American novelist for young readers. Her book What I Saw and How I Lied won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2008...
's book Beyond the Grave
Beyond the Grave
Beyond the Grave is the fourth book in The 39 Clues series first published in June 2, 2009 and written by Jude Watson.Thematically the novel uses Biblical knowledge, prophecy, and spiritual topics to explore the afterlife. Amy and Dan Cahill, the protagonists, travel to Egypt because of a clue they...
, the main characters are served sahlab at their hotel.
Salep is recommended for infants and invalids suffering from
chronic diarrhoea and bilious fevers. In the German Pharmacopoeia, a mucilage of salep appears as an official preparation.
Nutritional information
A typical recipe of Sahlab has the following nutrition facts per serving (around 250g):- Calories: 165
- Total fat (g): 8
- Saturated fat (g): 5
- Cholesterol (mg): 24
- Carbohydrates (g): 16
- Protein (g): 8