Salep
Salep (derived from Arabic khus yatus salab ) refers to the dried root tubers of various terrestrial orchids . These plants have two tubers at the time of flowering, one withered, at the expense of which the flowering stem developed, and one undivided, spherical or hand-shaped split, lobed one, from which a flowering stem develops in the following year.
The fully juicy tubers are used for production after the flowering period. Freshly harvested, these taste bitter and have an unpleasant odor. After collecting, they are washed and their outer, brown skin is rubbed off. The tubers are then boiled for 20-30 minutes and then dried. All orchid bulbs can deliver salep. The undivided tubers of orchid orchid ( Orchis morio ), male orchid ( Orchis mascula ), helmet orchid ( Orchis militaris ), burnt orchid ( Orchis ustulata ), pyramidal dogwort ( Anacamptis pyramidalis ) were used most often , less the divided tubers of the spotted orchid Orchid ( Dactylorhiza maculata ), Flesh-colored Orchid ( Dactylorhiza incarnata ) and Mosquito-Handelwurz ( Gymnadenia conopsea )
After drying, the round tubers are no more than 3 cm long and 2 g in weight, have a very irregular shape, hard, brittle, yellowish gray, smell weakly aromatic, taste bland, contain 27% cornstarch , 48% bassorin , 1% sugar, 5% protein , 2% mineral components u. a.
According to the doctrine of signatures , Salep (also known as Stendelwurz and Satyrion ) has been an effective means of regaining the power of procreation since antiquity with regard to the shape of the two rounded tubers sitting next to each other. Theophrastus of Eresus and Dioscurides ascribed great nourishing power to him, but he did not have it. The Arabs presumably brought Persian and other oriental salep tubers to Europe, but the tubers of native orchids were also used here in the Middle Ages . When there were no better medicines, it was also used as a home remedy for diarrhea. However, it has no medicinal effect.
Today, all of the above-mentioned orchid species are protected by national and international laws, which applies in particular to the underground parts of the plant. Within the EU , all orchid species are specially protected and the trade in salep is prohibited.
Salep is the food industry a thickener . Powdered, salep bulbs with 40 to 50 times the weight of boiling water form a stiff jelly . In Turkey , salep is used to make ice cream and dairy products, often being replaced by cheaper and ecologically harmless tapioca starch .
Salep or Sahlep is also the name for a drink that is widespread in Turkey and the Arab world and is prepared with salep powder. For example, a Salep instant powder “Ekspres Salep”, which is sold under a well-known brand name in Turkey, is popular. In addition to salep powder, cinnamon and a release agent, there is another thickening agent, modified potato starch .
At the beginning of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century, Salo (o) p from Salep in England was a well-known hot drink, later the leaves and roots of the sassafras tree were used.
literature
- Hans Hugo Lauer: On the tradition of the Salep root. In: Gundolf Keil , Rainer Rudolf, Wolfram Schmitt, Hans Josef Vermeer (eds.): Specialist literature of the Middle Ages. Festschrift Gerhard Eis. Metzler, Stuttgart 1968, pp. 395-420.
Individual evidence
- ^ Joseph T. Shipley: Dictionary of Early English. Rowman & Littlefield, 1955, ISBN 978-1-4422-3398-0 (Reprint), p. 573.
