Salep
We are the agency MILK. and write in our blog the MILKSHAKE. These are not just words, these are obligations. Whether golden or blue milk, vegetable or animal, cheese or yogurt – it’s no coincidence that milk is regularly used in a wide variety of ways; after all, we love milk.
This time, we’re looking a bit outside the box and devoting ourselves to a milk drink that has its origins in the Arab world. With Salep we got to know a milk drink that is new and unique for us.
The Lab makes Salep
Salep (Sahlep or also Sahlab) is a warm, thickened and sweetened milk drink, which is refined with cinnamon. In Germany, honey milk or cocoa are popular winter drinks; in Turkey, it’s salep. Salep is traditionally thickened with powder from dried root tubers of earth orchids. From the Arabic name of the roots khus yatus salab also derives the name. Today, however, these tubers are protected, which is why tapioca starch or starch powder from potatoes or corn is used as a substitute.
Cocoa or honey milk? Salep.
We use corn starch for our recipe. Spice and flavor come from a vanilla bean and crushed cinnamon sticks, which we pour milk and heat.
We then let the milk cool and reheat it. We repeat this process twice to get as much flavor as possible from the spices. We dissolve the cornstarch in cold milk, boil it again and let it boil for about 5-6 minutes. Then we taste them with honey and strain everything through a hair sieve. The result is a thick, intense milk. In other words, an ideal combination of thickened cocoa, as is common in Spain or Italy, and honey milk.
Summer Salep
We leave the milk to cool completely. After all, we want a summer Salep, thick, full-bodied but refreshing. Milkshake meets cocoa, honey milk and salep.
Since the starch still thickens a bit when it cools, the consistency turned out a bit too thick for us. But this can be easily adjusted with a little fresh milk.
We put this mixture into a cream siphon, hoping to obtain a light and airy consistency. However, this gives the salep more of a pudding consistency. We could add characteristics of a vla to our milk drink mix but it tastes best without the last step, cold and unfoamed. Although we have adapted the drink to summer, we traditionally accompany it with Un Kurabiyesi, Turkish oil cookies that we baked to go with it.
The MILK. Food Lab @Home
Salep is also very easy to make at home without rennet.
For two cups you need:
2 tablespoons starch
500 ml milk
2 tablespoons honey or sugar
1 vanilla pod or some vanilla sugar
1 cinnamon stick whole or ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Heat milk with the spices and sugar as described (Repeat for more flavor or use powder instead of whole spices). Dissolve the starch in a little cold milk and whisk it into the slightly boiling spiced milk until the liquid thickens considerably.
In winter Salep traditionally tastes best warm, in summer, like us, you can now let the milk cool or put it in the fridge and then enjoy it cold or even with ice. To do this, pour into cups and sprinkle with a little cinnamon – Şerefe!
