Vanilla is as you might know derived from an orchid but it might come as a suprise that there are several other orchids used in cooking as well? The cousine in Asia minor uses a lot of different orchids.
The Early Purple Orchid, Orchis mascula, is an orchid found in around the mediterranean as well as in nearby areas. The orchid flowers in early during spring or early summer. The orchid is well know to be a aphrodisiac and is even mentioned in Hamlet where it is called “Long purple”
“of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples, that liberal shepards give a grosser name”. Gertrude in Shakespeare’s Hamlet
The roots have also been used in European spellwork.
The Early Purple Orchid forms underground tubers which are ground to a powder and used in the kitchen, chiefly to produce the hot beverage “salep” or Turkish ice cream (more or less)”salepli dondurma” dondurma being the Turkish word for ice cream. The orchid is also used in salep pudding, a popular desert in parts of the Middle East.
Salep is the word for a powder made from the tubers from this orchid. Some etymologist believes the word salep can be derived from the turkish expression “¸¸¥asyu al-tha`lab” which is a graphic description of how the early purple orchid tubers look and means fox testicles. Others believe that the Turkish name comes directly from the Arabic name sa¸sa¸¥lab.
Orchid drink
Salep is today mainly popular in the near and middle east but used to be popular in all of Europe before the introduction of coffe and tea. Salep used to be called saloop in England when it was popular. Old 16th and 17th century recipes shows that salep during this period was made from water and salep powder that was flavoured with rose water and sweetened. When Orchis mascula powder was impossible to obtain or too expensive to purchase, the underground tubers of orchids growing in Britain commonly known as dogstones were used instead.
Salep remains a popular drink in Turkey, especially during fall and winter. The powder is heated with milk, sugar and cinnamon and served as a thick beverage. The drink is sometimes referred to as Turkish Delight, but this can cause misunderstandings since that name is also attributed to lokum, a confection made from starch and sugar.
The orchid is today endangered and export of true salep powder from Turkey is illegal. If you’re not in Turkey or have a salep supplier from another country, you may have to make do with instant salep mix made with artificial flavouring.
Orchid ice-cream
The Turkish ice cream dondurma differs from other types of ice cream by being much tougher and chewier. It is also highly resilient to melting. The ice cream is made using goat milk and traditional methods. Mastic, an ingredient in the ice cream, is an evergreen shrub of the Pistacio family.
Kahramanmara in southeastern Turkey is known for a thick and though dondurma made using large amount of salep. This ice cream is known as mara dondurmas and can actually be eaten with a knife and fork. The ice cream is commonly sold by street vendors in Turkey.
