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What's your go to thirst quencher on a hot summer's day. Iced tea, sorbet, watermelon, a mocktail or an icy popsicle? Well, how about adding salgam to your list!
This vegetable based Turkish drink, (pronounced shal-gum) is sure to put some fire in your belly and pep you up after eating or when energy levels are low in the mid day sun.
WHAT IS SALGAM?
Salgam is a salted and fermented drink with a pungent sour flavour, and made from turnips or black carrots, bulgur wheat, salt, and yeast. It's great for quenching thirst and waking up digestive juices.
Şalgam is usually served cold in large glasses and garnished with purple carrot sticks (tane) when bought from street vendors, although restaurants generally serve it without.
A hot pepper sauce made from hot chili peppers is given in addition, allowing you to spice up your şalgam as desired, You can also drink it with aniseed alcohol, raki.
Salgam is traditionally eaten with Adana kebab, but it's an ideal drink to pair with spicy meats or sip after a greasy kebab to kick start the digestive action.
WHERE IS SALGAM FROM?
Şalgam is a traditional beverage from the southern cities in Turkey like Adana, Hatay, Tarsus, Mersin, Kahramanmaras, İzmir and the Çukurova region.
THE BLACK MIRACLE DRINK
Salgam is known as a "micacle cure" when it comes to hangovers and helping aid digestion. It also contains β-carotene, group B vitamins, calcium, potassium, and iron and reportedly helps to remove toxins from the human body, as well as aiding with reducing kidney stones.
