The other day in the States my husband was craving apricot juice. Now in Saudi Arabia fresh, canned and frozen apricot juice is plentiful and readily available at the numerous fruit drink stands which about in Saudi Arabia but in the US of A we had to travel to four different grocery stores before we found some canned apricot juice!
I never noticed before in the US how limited the fresh fruit drinks and fruit drink selections (canned and frozen) are so limited until returning back from Saudi Arabia. In the US many individuals think that going to a Smoothie Shop is what you do if you want a fresh fruit drink. That saddens me.
Once one has been exposed to the wide variety of choices in Saudi Arabia you don’t want to settle for anything less.
Let me try to describe a typical Fresh Fruit drink stand in Saudi Arabia. The first thing that will strike one is the abundance of color. Dozens of differing kinds of fresh fruit from around the world are usually strategically placed in baskets creating a kaleidoscope of both scents and many colors. The selection will include apples, oranges, grapes, lemons, watermelons, cantelopes, honey dews, limes, bananas, strawberries, kiwis, cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, pomengrate, pineapple, raspberries, blueberries, boysenberries, guava, lichies and so much more. One can have a drink prepared with or without ice, with or without ice cream. The drink can be blended, whipped or there are also some frozen choices too.
Usually a Fresh Fruit drink stand will have a different special each day such as fresh orange and pomengrate juices mixed together and served over ice. Trust me, this drink is very tasty and very refreshing! But among my favorite is a fresh fruit drink called “papagat” or “levels.” I still do not know the secret in how this drink is actually prepared but it is one of the most colorful and delicious fruit drinks. Each individual fruit juice tastes as if it has been blended or whipped and then served in a tall glass. This drink will have 5 different kinds of fruit juices and when drinking papagat, one will taste and drink each type of fruit juice individually. Don’t ask me how but the juices do not blend all together. How I wish I could find something like this while we are here in the States.
And somehow the freshly squeezed orange juice in Saudi Arabia seems brighter and tastier and more aromatic than any orange juice I have had anywhere else.
Even if one does not go to a fresh fruit drink stand but instead chooses to buy pre-packaged or bottled fruit juices, it is typical to have several aisles of a large grocery store dedicated to the many selections of juices available. Apricot is easy to find as well as pear/apple/grape juice which also has a distinctive and lovely taste.
In sum, the fresh fruit drinks and juices of Saudi Arabia are not to be missed. I’ve yet to find anywhere else in the world close to the choices offered in Saudi Arabia.
Filed under: America, culture, Food, Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi customs, Saudi Living, shopping, travel, Uncategorized Tagged: | America, culture, culture shock, customs, Food, KSA, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi customs, travel
I absolutely love exotic juices and they are sold at such a premium in Aus so this post has got me quite excited about the prospect of fresh juices.
If I may ask, you speak of iced drinks and I know that all travel health places will tell you never to have drinks with ice in them for fear of contaminated water. I’ve completely ignored that advice before in Asia because it was pretty obvious that everyone buys their ice. Is this the same case in Saudi Arabia?
I have read that everyone drinks bottled water so I am curious as to whether food and drink establishments always serve clean water, or if you just learn to identify places you can trust.
Most of the fresh fruit places in the malls would be safe in regards to iced drinks. And any reputable restaurant or known hotel would be safe as well for ice. Where I would be cautious is when one is getting a drink from a sidewalk vendor or an unknown restaurant that looks like it caters more to laborers.
mmmmm. now i’m craving coktail with ashta on top!! even thought there is some canned fruit juices and jamba juice here in the states…it doesnt quite taste as good as it could
Yeah I’ve always noticed that, in the US in the grocery stores basically the only thing they have is orange!!! It’s weird. I love how they have every kind of fruit juice here, it’s great.
I love drinking pomegranate juice while I’m in Saudi!
This all sounds sóóó lovely! I like very few drinks, and almost no sodadrinks, but these coctails sound as the sthings I make for myself…
Only better!!!!!!!!!
Yummieeeee!!!!!!!!!
Put the drinks on the list bedu! For every day!
I am so looking forward to this! My husband has told me about the fruit juice stands … and the wonderful food in general!
@Angie – you must share with us…what is ashta and jamba juice?
@Saudi sweet tart – yes, indeed, the choices are limiting. It is kind of funny how here in the States the primary juice is orange and it’s like a big deal to get it mixed with pineapple or mango or something else! Even a newly arrived family member from Saudi immediately picked up on the lack of fruit juice choices here.
@Rasheed – I was first introduced to pomengrate (roman in arabic) juice when I was in Iraq and have been hooked ever since. It is indeed so delicious and especially so when served fresh.
@Aafke – oh how I wish I knew how to make the papagat drink. Can anyone from Saudi share the secret here???
@wendy – you are indeed in for a wonderful treat!
on how they make Tabagata* juice, the way i see it, they basically prepare each juice separately and then cool them (or even freeze them), then they pour each juice on top of the other juice. How they don’t get mixed, they tend to increase the density of the juice so that it becomes thick and doesn’t get mixed with the other juice… plus they always put the less dense juice on top.. while the densest juice goes to the bottom, that’s why you always get mango juice in the bottom!
There’s a place in Riyadh called 100 fruits.. its nice and it serves many kinds of fruits.. but in my entire life I have never seen something as good as the famous Mexican restaurant “100% natural”, which I LOVED when I was in Mexico City!
opps! It’s *Tabagat!
Interesting…. Thank you Nader!
Hmm, perhaps I should experiment a bit….
american bedu…jamba juice is a fruit juice chain in the states that makes cocktails….
ashta is a cream topping put in cocktails made in lebanon. its really tasty! i dont know how to make it or what its made of…but i miss it, and crazve it when haveing fruits in the sumemr
Nader–excellent linguists and physics LOL!
A recipe for multi-coloured layered cocktails or beverages gives the following suggestions:
–look on the internet for a chart giving specific gravities of the different liquids
–add the ingredients to the glass one at a time, in order of decreasing specific gravities
–after the first layer is in, pour successive layers slowly over the back of a spoon
–use equal measures of the different liquids
–use tall narrow glasses
–sip and enjoy each layer separately
I may try it myself!
@Nader – ok…when I’m back in Riyadh you tell me what ingredients to get and come over and show me how to make them!
Carol, If you are based in Riyadh, you should try the juices at Mamanoura on Dabab Street(take away only sadly for families). There is another branch also located but am not too sure of the address. I agree with you totally about the variety and freshness of the fruit drinks that you get in KSA is quite unbelievable.
@Rasputin – oh yes….we have been to Mama Noura’s many times and you are correct – the drinks (and other offerings) there are absolutely delicious.
I’ve never been anywhere with better fruit juice stand than in Mexico. I haven’t seen many juice “stands” per se in Jeddah — I see those Lebanese places and they do good juices. In Mexico, you see proper street stalls on practically any busy street corner as well as in the markets. Also, while the grocery stores in Saudi are packed with juices, almost all of them are the garden variety high-fructose corn syrup brands. (the best non-HFCS brand is the Caesar brand.) Overall I am quite surprised how much sugar the Saudis consume (in tea alone! but also in juices like orange juice, which is super sugary). It’s not wonder they’re having major problems with diabetes.
@Olegonzo – I can’t comment on the fresh juices in Jeddah since I’m not as familiar with the available choices. Riyadh is pretty good with much to choose from.
It is true that a lot of the canned juices have much sugar but as you mentioned, the Ceasar brand of juices has less and quite delicious. But I think so many Saudis and expats take advantage of the availability of the fresh juices over canned.
The fresh fruit stands in the mideast are THE best..
The locations are clean, vendors are polite (mostly) and there are plentiful EVERYWHERE. Best of all they can deliver to your shop, store or work place.
Plus they don’t mind mixing things up and customizing etc with NO surcharge. believe me if there was something like that here in the USA there will be all sorts of restrictions on what you can get how. (just like at jamba, which btw has got nothing on those juice stands)
Couple of years ago I tried Avocado in Bahrain and ever since I have liked it. and made it at home as well.
I would have a fresh fruit mug from the stand every day if i lived there.
oh. and forget the canned and frozen juices.
you must try 50 fruit they serve the juices and i recommend you try the tabaqat juice and their avocado juice plus they serve a freshly prepared fruit salad
50 fruit is at the intersection of king abdulaziz road and imam saud bin abdulaziz street
@hani – thank you very much for the recommendation!!
American Bedu where do you get your juices drinks? We have been to Mamanoura. Would love to try somewhere else.
I will look for the 50Fruit mentioned above as well.
@Krys – We like Al Bosari (I know I’ve misspelled) Restaurant as well as Al Aajmi. You can get individual drinks or get them in jugs as take-home for multiple servings.
I live in Riyadh and the supermarkets are a real let down when it comes to fruit juices. The ONLY juice (almost without exception) that is not full of artificial rubbish in supermarkets is orange juice from some few and limited brands (and yes iv tried euromarche, carrefour, tamimi, danube, jazeera etc). There is of course a huge long long array of choice but its all unimpressive. I think it might be time to start paying attention to the ingredients on the labels!
I’ve lived a bit of everywhere and I would say that European countries seem to have the most amount of choice when it comes to fresh fruit juices: several brands with 100% juice and the majority not from concentrate. Here I have mainly encountered 2 or 3 brands that offer 100% juice, I don’t even bother trying to get something not from concentrate! I think you might be romanticising Saudi Arabia, the juice options in supermarkets here are very poor.
@Skandi Guy,
I do not purchase fresh fruit juice from the supermarkets but rather the special fresh fruit juice stands which abide around all the towns. I do recommend Al Basserih for their wide selection. Mama Noura’s is good too. At all of these places you can get fresh fruit juices to drink on the spot or for take home.
These fruit drinks sound lovely! <3 Litchi/Lychee/etc. are my favourite fruit! I have had a hard time finding not-from-concentrate juices recently. The layered juice drink sounds awesome! Can you imagine: mango, banana, raspberry, strawberry and/or pineapple, litchi? That sounds delicious!!! ^__^ I wish I had a juicer…
For me personally (as I imagine everyone is different), fruit juices don't seem to mess with my blood sugar nearly as badly as breads (even whole grain). Interesting, huh? No, I'm not diabetic, but am prone to low blood sugar depending on what I've been eating and how long I go between meals.
Grains work on your body as sugar. Most wholegrain products aren’t really what you think, especially if you buy them in supermarkets. Read the labels, you will read they contain glucose, which is sugar, and they are spongy and light. A true wholegrain bread is quite solid and very heavy, and will not contain sugars.
You will have to go to a health food store to get really good bread.
And maybe you should be eating sourdough bread rather than yeast bread. Sounds as if you maybe hypoglycemic.
Sugars in fruit are sugars but long chained sugars, (same as carbs in real wholegrain bread are mutch harder for the body to break down) it takes much longer for the body to get at them. Even better if you combine it with eating something.
If you eat something with coconut oil with your your juice you will go even longer before your blood sugar gets low. I put it in my smoothies.
Refined sugars and refined flour are poisons to your body, sugar is also highly addictive. And cancer cells thrive on sugar. Everybody should stop eating sugar, and stop buying convenience food which is laced with sugar as well.
Excellent advise, Aafke! I have changed my complete diet around and no more sugars or starches!
Oh but do I miss the fresh juice drinks from Saudi. I’ve yet to find any place near comparison in the US for the same kind of drinks. I loved it when Abdullah would surprise me on his way home from work in Riyadh when he’d stop and bring us home fresh fruit drinks.
You can make them yourself with a juicer. I love my juicer and make endless variations of fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies.
Aafke,
Thanks for the information. It’s been a while since I’ve tried health food bread. It’s very difficult to get what I want here when it comes to “health food” -even at a health food store. The other thing that could be possible is that my body could be sensitive to wheat (not sure). For a while, I was on an food allergy/sensitivity elimination diet and honestly felt great! I had less issues with low blood sugar as long as I ate regularly. However, it was very difficult to get enough calories and calcium, too, at first. It’s also takes a lot longer to prepare meals (and eating out is virtually impossible).
I like the idea about coconut oil. I wouldn’t have ever thought of that on my own!
Low blood sugar and low blood pressure (“high” for me is when the top number reads 130…lol) issues both run in my family (nothing severe though), but usually it isn’t a huge problem for me as long as I eat regularly. It’s even less of a problem when I eat healthier, too.
What is your take on dairy products, Aafke? I have heard conflicting information on dairy products as a calcium source. Any ideas anyone?
I may just have to invest in a juicer, Aafke!
AmericanBedu,
Can you still have fruit, then? What I found out while I was on the allergy-elimination diet is that whenever I get super-stressed, my body has a hard time processing starches (whether from potato, wheat, rice, etc. and sometimes even banana!). I think for me, the hardest part was convenience and deciding what to eat while eating out. Also, trying not to eat wheat (breads) while in Paris for a week. ;P Have you managed to come up with any good recipes? Are there any Trader Joe’s (or a similar store) within driving distance? They might have some. I do miss Trader Joe’s fresh carrot juice. (Yumm!)
Wheat is not at all that good a food to eat. Try spelt of rye instead.
I have my own hand mill and bag of spelt. It is easy for me to find good bread here, but really freshly ground grain is the best. Also grains and legumes contain inhibitors which make them actually hard to digest, traditional food preparation always involved complicated techniques to prepare these foodstuff for consumption. If I make my own bread (not always have the time) I grind the grains fresh, I get to keep the healthy oils, and I ferment it for 12 hours in yogurt. Sometimes health food stores sell bread which is made like this, but I wouldn’t know in America. I find it very difficult to find good quality food in America.
I love milk, but from what I have read up til now I think milk isn’t the super food it is advertised to be. For one, protein inhibits calcium uptake, so you can’t use much of the calcium in milk, but there are lots of other sources for calcium, or you could supplement with dolomite. taking extra vitamin D3 will also help absorbing calcium.
And if you want any benefit from milk you should drink grass fed cow milk, and raw. Pasteurization kills anything useful in milk. I have drunk raw milk many times when I visited farmers and in Austria we used to buy it regularly straight from the cow, and I never got sick.
Most people are actually allergic to milk and milk products. Our bodies stop producing the enzymes needed to digest milk after we are about 3 or 4 years old.
And soy milk is very bad for you. Don’t drink it.
Aafke,
) . One of my family members gets allergy-induced asthma from too much soy, so I also try to limit my intake of soy. What would you recommend as good calcium sources? I have heard that almonds, small fish such as sardines (with bones in them), and sesame seeds are good sources? There is one health food store near me that sells fresh bread, but it seems like they use regular flour for their breads.
I can’t have much dairy (or at least, I shouldn’t
@Aafke – Have you figured out how to make “poppogat?” (phonetic) That is the layering of the different fruit juices and it is so delicious.
@Strange One – I frequently use Taste of Home and Food Network sites for recipes. Some of my healthy favorites include Southwestern Zucchini Boats and Eggplant Pizzas!
@AB- Eggplant pizzas sound delicious! <3
Good article.
Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.)wishes the people not to cut trees in Holli Cities.
Allah has given them Fresh Fruits by many ways The doors are open.
Colorful pics of 50 fruits Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
http://static.gowalla.com/photos/4577415_high_res_320x480.jpg
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/48402390