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.
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