Salgam Suyu and other Turkish Drinks

[bleudauvergne]

I ran across a bottle of Salgam in my imports shop a few days ago. I was making pickles and looking for interesting vinegars and this was in the same asile. I read the label and thought I might be able to use it in some kind of pickle making: "Juice of carrot, partially lactic acid fermented with yeast, salted" The cashier's curiosity was piqued (as it sometimes is in that shop since I'm always rooting through everything they have in stock in search of yummy things) and he asked me if I had ever had it before. He explained to me that this is a great drink that comes at different levels of spiciness, and it is really great to have before a meal as it stimulates the appetite. I got it home and drank the whole bottle in three days. It just tastes GREAT. I think this will be a great drink on ice during the summer. A little more research and I ran across the Wikipedia Entry and find out that it's fermented in Mulberry barrels and spiced up with turnip juice and all kinds of lovely things. Anybody else tried this drink and can you tell me anything more about it? Any Salgam stories?

[Wolfert]

I think this will be a great drink on ice during the summer.

I agree with you. Actually, many Turks drink it in the winter because it is considered to be incredibly healthy with lots of vitamins and minerals.

I had my first glass of tart-intense salgam in the city of Gaziantep in southeast Turkey, a place where dishes can never be too sour.

Grilled lamb kebabs sprinkled with sumac and accompanied by a plate of pickles.

[marlena spieler]

personally, I'm kind of addicted to the fermented turnip juice that the Turks drink. its bright pink from beetroot, and tastes like pickle juice. you can get it spicy or not spicy, and it needs to be drunk icey cold.

omigod is that the best thing on a hot sultry day.

i've shared it with many in the us, though few share my enthusiasm. but then again, i love anything pickled and sour too.

[Milagai]

People in North India concoct something

very similar in winter, made of "black carrots"

(one variety of carrot). It's called "kanji"

There are many cultural connections across

the Islamic crescent: the Hindi word for turnip

is also salgam, and I think the word for soap

is the same (sabun) etc.

Milagai

ps: here is one link for a recipe:

http://www.indiacurry.com/beverage/b005kanji.htm

note that black mustard seeds are needed and

hopefully the dark variety of carrot.

Otherwise use regular carrots and 1 beet for good colour.

Edited April 4, 2006 by Milagai (log)

[odysseus]

I think this will be a great drink on ice during the summer.

I agree with you. Actually, many Turks drink it in the winter because it is considered to be incredibly healthy with lots of vitamins and minerals.

I had my first glass of tart-intense salgam in the city of Gaziantep in southeast Turkey, a place where dishes can never be too sour.

Grilled lamb kebabs sprinkled with sumac and accompanied by a plate of pickles.

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I have had this as a chaser with raki - the way you would drink sagrita in mexico with tequila. the first time I almost threw up, just from suprise, but it grows on you.

[Swisskaese]

Another winter drink is Boza. It is made from fermented millet. I have tried it and it not bad.

I really like their cherry juice.

Edited April 6, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[marlena spieler]

Another winter drink is Boza. It is made from fermented millet. I have tried it and it not bad.

I really like their cherry juice.

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hi swisskaese/michelle!

wonderful to be in touch with you again!

i too have drunk boza, in bulgaria, though i wasn't keen on it--kind of sour, and creamy, with almost a whiff of rope or carpet, but then maybe that was just the place we were staying, the people who made it. i love turkish cherry juice, though: esp on a hot hot day, drunk from the man at the marketplace who carries a big sort of tank of cherry juice and fishes it out with a ladle into a glass, and puts some crushed ice in too. mmmmm--so totally refreshing and full of cherry flavour. my grandmother used to drink it for her arthritis, i must remember that when my hand hurts. its a good excuse anyhow, any excuse to drink cherry juice is good with me.

i've had the fermented turnip juice with beetroot drunk with raki as a chaser, too, which i loved, i guess its like drinking raki and eating pickled vegetables/meze, but my husband does not drink, and he likes the pickley turnip juice as a substitute for alcoholic drinks.

x marlena

Edited April 6, 2006 by marlena spieler (log)

[sazji]

Boza I love - gotta go get some soon before the season is over! Şalgam....*shudder*. I've tried it so many times and tried to learn to like it but I have the same reaction as the poster above had...I almost hurl. How can something that smells so wonderful be so repulsive (to me)? Here it is made with "black carrots" which are really very very dark red, can be fairly large, and are beet-like in color. If anyone wants to grow them, I wouldn't be averse to popping some seed into the mail. They make good salad too.