Sahlab

I’d seen this dispenser during previous trips to Mahane Yehuda market. I assumed it was coffee, but when I asked about it, the vendor told me is was sahlab. He said it was made from a flower. “Oaker” is how he pronounced it. I researched sahlab and dsicovered that he was referring to a type of orchid. (For those of you who are flower/plant experts, the type of orchid used is “Orchis mascula.”) Evidently, sahlab is popular in Turkey, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries.

I have decided that I like sahlab, albeit in small quantities. It is a warm beverage, thick, creamy, and white. Its main component is powder made from the tubers of the orchid. The sahlab powder is blended with hot milk and usually seasoned with orange blossom water or rose water. The vendor sprinkles coconut flakes, ground walnuts, and cinnamon on top of the individual cups of sahlab. This is definitely not something I would want to drink every day, but it is a nice deviation from tea, which is what I usually drink when I want to drink something hot...and it is certainly an interesting cultural experience.