Salepi
This weekend we had a trip at Grevena, Maria’s hometown. Sitting in the family table her uncle mentioned that he collected “salepi” the previous day. Salepi is a “healthy” hot drink made from the bulbs of some orchid species. The word rang the bell for me. So, do you have orchids around here, I asked? I got a hesitant positive answer, followed by a short conversation which set an unofficial common ground on terminology. “Salepi comes from an orchid...”, “Orchid is a rare unique plant...” and so on and so it was clear my intentions were focused on the plant itself and not the bulbs. We agreed to visit Orchis mascula in situ next time, where I can admire it and shoot it.
I am pretty sure Salepi now looked more precious to uncle's eyes than before (did it?). What I am not confident about is the power of a short conversation to put up against a tradition of hundreds of years and how this pushes a species to distinction.
As far it concerns the health benefits of salepi, they are not much different from a simple recipe with hot milk and cinnamon...











