saloop

noun

1. (dated, uncountable, usually)An aromatic drink originally prepared from salep and later from sassafras bark with other ingredients such as milk and sugar added, which was once popular in London, England.

   “Saſſafras is a warm ingredent, and where it is not made too ſtrong, ſo as to make the head ach, is a very good ſubstitute for breakfaſt, and as ſuch I recommend it to thoſe who do not care to be at the trouble to make any other drinks; this is the chief ingredient of what is called ſaloup, and ſold about the ſtreets in the morning.”

   “The little sweep would have his saloop smoking hot—and there was the common appliance of a charcoal grate—regaling himself with the savory steam until the mess was cool enough for him to swallow; […] his white teeth the while gleaming from his sooty visage as he gleefully licked his lips at the warm and oily breakfast.”

   “Sassafras officinale, the Laurus sassafras, was introduced into Europe through France, and both wood and bark supply a volatile oil. […] The infusion of it was formerly much sold about the streets of London, at daybreak, modified with milk and sugar, under the name of Saloop, and chiefly made from this wood, though the true Saloop or Salep is an Orchis.”

   “As an alternative to coffee – in periods such as the beginning of the eighteenth century, when it became expensive – a patron might request saloop.”

2. (uncountable, usually)The berry saltbush or red berry saltbush (Chenopodium hastatum, syn. Einadia hastata and Rhagodia hastata), a small plant found in coastal and inland areas of eastern Australia.

   “SALOOP Rhagodia hastata R. Br. Chenopodiaceae / Deep-green perennial subshrub, usually about 25 cm high, with stems to 75 cm long, woody at base.”

   “Red berry saltbush […] Other common name: saloop, berry saltbush”

3. (alt-of, alternative, uncountable, usually)Alternative form of salep (“starch or jelly made from orchid plants”).

   “Where finally the draining of marſhy grounds can not be effected at a reſponſible expence, ſome plants may perhaps be cultivated with profit to the cultivator; as in ſome ſituations the feſtica fluitans, floating feſcue, callitriche, ſtar-graſs; or in others the orchis for the purpoſe of making ſaloop by drying the peeled roots in an oven.”

   “In simple ordinary diarrhœa, a mixture is prescribed, consisting of two ounces of a decoction of mallow and saloop, and two drops of Sydenham's laudanum.”