Exploring the Old City

Popular Pita Pockets Play Prominent Part in Palestinian Passions

Say that seven times quickly. Pita is a staple in the Middle East.  So much so that every morning fresh pita is delivered to nearly every grocery store, convenience store, market and restaurant or food stand throughout.  When I was home in Canada this summer I had a difficult time finding fresh (that is the key) pita anywhere.  At best the pita was thin, dry and fell apart the moment you try to put anything inside it.  Ahhh, but in the Middle East pita is warm, fresh, thick and tasty!  Fill it with falafel, salads, french fries, chicken (schwarma), and hot sauces, pestos and salsas - just about anything and you have a meal that is sure to fill and please. In exploring the Old City in Ramallah I came across a small bakery that supplies and sells fresh made pita and was invited in to take pictures and observe the process. In the back of this dingy little store was an semi-automated pita-making assembly line.  And here I was thinking my personal pita making attempts were as bad as my taco shell-making attempts in Mexico - never the same shape and they always looked a lot more like the shape of Canada.  Now I find out it's all in the equipment!

Proud Paw of the Pride
When Al Manara (the main traffic circle in Ramallah) was constructed, the story is told that the Palestinians hired a Chinese company to design the four lions, each representing Ramallah's first settler families. The Chinese wanted to have a picture of the lions so that they could provide the Palestinians with a desired product.  The picture that was sent was from a Seiko magazine ad and so if you look carefully, you will see the lion below proudly displaying a beautiful Seiko watch on his left paw.  This trivia is unknown to many locals and I credit a Danish friend for this fun tidbit of information.

Product Produced in Palestine Positively Perfect

One of the unique products produced Palestine is their homemade ice cream.  It comes in a variety of flavours such as pastachio and pineapple and mint, however the flavours are intense and the consistency is surprisingly different than any ice cream or sorbet I've ever had. I am kind of speculating, but there is an ingredient found in most ice creams called 'guar gum'.  I've checked and understand it's purpose is to thicken and hold the ice cream together.  Well Palestinians must have experimented with the amount and dumped a whole lot more of that guar gum in and voila....a uniquely textured, sort of sticky, thick ice cream bursting with flavour.  They got this recipe right in my books and on my pallet.