salep

American  

[sal-ep] / ˈsæl ɛp /

noun

1. a starchy, demulcent drug or foodstuff consisting of the dried tubers of certain orchids.

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salep British  

/ ˈsælɛp /

noun

1. the dried ground starchy tubers of various orchids, used for food and formerly as drugs

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Etymology

Origin of salep

1730–40; < Turkish salep < dialectal Arabic saḥlab, perhaps shortened variant of Arabic khusā al-thaʿlab fox's testicles; cf. saloop

Example Sentences

Around 1,000 to 4,000 orchid plants are used to make a single kilogram of salep, a beloved drink in Turkey that is like a cross between hot chocolate and rice pudding.

From New York Times • Dec. 30, 2020

The same can be said of salep, a fine powder ground from dried orchis tubers used in the Middle East to thicken ice cream.

From Newsweek

An orchis found in the mountain yields the dried tuber which affords the nutritious mucilage called salep: a good deal of this goes to India.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

Red Port wine was now given more freely in his medicated water; and his nourishment consisted of sago and salep.

From Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air by Priestley, Joseph

One dram by weight of the salep powder in a fluid dram and a half of the spirit, to half-a-pint of water, are the proper proportions.

From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by Fernie, William Thomas