Turkish Salep is a hot creamy drink that warms you up in winter. Everyone’s all time favorite hot drink in Turkey. A drink you HAVE TO try before you die. 

Turkish salep is one of the most fascinating drinks around the world. Its flavor is unique, so no words can exactly describe how yummy it tastes. So creamy and milky that both kids and adults LOVE it like crazy. It is served with cinnamon powder on the top. The best food couple ever! Am I being too assertive? That’s because everyone loves it at first sip.

On cold days of winter, if I’m outside, the only thing I imagine is to have a cup of Turkish salep at home. It warms both your hands(while holding the cup) and your body. I love its aromatic scent spreading inside the home while cooking it. Let me introduce this yummy hot drink a bit more before its recipe.

What is salep?

I was definitely surprised when I first learnt that salep is produced from the bulbs of some species of orchid family. You know that beautiful and fragile flower, right? Have you ever thought that it has also a lot of benefits besides its majestic beauty? This orchid family includes 24 species and about 90 classes of orchids. Since the lands of Anatolia are so fertile, these species and classes grow on their own in different regions of our country. However, salep is produced from some certain species.

The orchids which are suitable for salep production have a unique structure. The root of those orchids consists of two bulbs side by side. They are in shape of an egg. The bigger bulb feeds the flower while the smaller one is the spare bulb which will take the responsibility of feeding the flower the following year.   Although salep can be produced from both bulbs, producers pick up just the spare one not to cause the flower to become extinct. When the spare one is taken, the bigger bulb starts to generate a new small bulb. The flower goes on living in this way. Fascinating, isn’t it?

After the bulbs are picked, they are washed and boiled in water or milk. Then they are dried in open air. To have salep flour, these bulbs are pounded when they are totally dried. Salep includes starch, sugar, and mucilage, which has a sticky characteristic. This last substance helps the drink get thicker while boiling.

How to buy salep

There are also packaged salep that you can find in supermarkets, you just mix it with hot milk and your best hot drink is ready. However, these are not genuine, companies add extra starch into it. So if you want to feel the original taste, you should make a little search.

It is generally found in herb and spice shops. It is a bit expensive and that’s how you can understand that it’s genuine. If a kilo of it is cheaper than 250 Turkish Liras, it’s not genuine. But don’t worry, you don’t need to buy a kilo. 10-20 grams will be enough for you because you’ll use just 3 teaspoon for 1 liter milk. You may find the time of making this drink a bit long, but it’s absolutely worth it.

Is salep healthy?

Besides its yummy taste and magical scent, this unique drink has also several benefits to health. The most well known benefit of it is that it has a curative effect on cough, bronchitis and cold, that’s why it’s mostly consumed in winter. In addition, it cures constipation and strengthens heart and mental powers.

Talking on this magical drink, I start to crave for it. I’ll definitely run into the kitchen and prepare some after finishing this post.

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Updated: I tried to make it without starch and it’s even better! I just increased the amount of sahlep flour. I added 1 tbsp sahlep flour into a liter of milk. Sahlep itself is enough to have the right consistency. Mix sahlep flour, milk and sugar. Boil it stirring continually. Add vanilla (optional) when it boils. It’s done! Don’t forget to garnish with cinnamon powder.