How Is Turkish Şalgam (Black Carrot) Juice Made?

What Is Şalgam, and How Is It Actually Made?

Şalgam is a dark red, cloudy, sour Turkish beverage made through two separate lactic acid fermentations rather than one. A bulgur-flour dough is fermented first, then the sour liquid extracted from it is fermented a second time with chopped black carrot and turnip — that second stage is where the drink most people recognize as şalgam actually comes from.

Turkey's TS 11149 standard for shalgam juice defines the product the same way: an extract from fermented bulgur flour, sourdough, water and salt, mixed with black carrot, turnip, and optionally chili powder, then fermented again.

Stage One: The Dough Starter

The first fermentation uses a dough made from roughly 3% bulgur flour, 0.2% salt and 0.2% sourdough culture kneaded with water, left at room temperature for three to five days while pH and acidity are tracked. Commercial producers sometimes ferment the yeast separately for about a day at 25°C before folding it in.

Once fermentation is done, the dough is extracted with water — repeatedly, in some production schemes up to four times — and it is this sour liquid, not the dough itself, that moves on to the next stage.

Stage Two: Black Carrot Turns It Into Şalgam

The liquid from stage one is transferred to a tank with chopped black carrot (reported ratios range from about 10% to 20%), roughly 1% salt, and optionally chopped turnip, topped up with water. This stage runs at room temperature or slightly warmer and is followed by acidity testing until it plateaus. Total fermentation across both stages is generally reported at around two to four weeks.

The signature dark red-purple color comes from anthocyanin pigments released from the black carrot during fermentation — not from the turnip the drink is named after, which is often used sparingly, or even skipped, because it adds cost.

Spicy Versions and Bottling

Under the TS 11149 definition, chili powder can be added into the second-stage mixture alongside the carrot and turnip — that single addition is what separates spicy şalgam from the plain version. After fermentation, the liquid is filtered off its sediment and bottled; traditionally it is kept cold, around 4°C, though some producers now apply a brief high-heat pasteurization before bottling to extend shelf life.

A Registered Regional Name

Şalgam is produced in several Turkish regions, but the name "Adana Şalgamı" specifically is registered with Turkey's Turkish Patent and Trademark Office as a geographical indication — filed in December 2014, registered in March 2020, under the mahreç işareti (place-of-origin mark) category. That registration protects the name, not the general production method used elsewhere.