going to israel this summer. is there any way i can know what fruits will be in season or how difficult or easy it will be to continue to be raw vegan while I am there? i am going with a tour group so just wondering.

interested in what fruits are grown there in the summer and how plentiful fruit is there and what i can expect being raw vegan.

thanks.

mmmmmm, raw olives?

I sure hope those are not my only options? DX

not many foods i dispise, but olives are on the top of the list.

I looked up photos on google, and it looks like there are all kinds of fruits i guess, but i can't find anything saying what is in season when? I'll be there sometime during june or july

Hi there

One of Israel's main exports is fruit and vegetables; it's a great place to be raw, as just about everything grows in that climate.

You'll find good quality produce everywhere and you'll also find that Israelis have a big appetite for salad. The typical Israeli salad bowl of peppers (capsiscums) chopped very small with tomatoes, cucumber, onion, parsley and lemon juice is served at every meal, even breakfast!

As for what fruits will be in season in summer, I would say just about everything, except for unusual tropical things like Durian, although I wouldn't be surprised if you can easily find things like that.

There are quite a few raw foodists there. I saw one on You Tube who makes lots of videos, some of which are bizarre but he's totally gorgeous: www.youtube.com/isforbliss. If you need help when you get there, send him a message.

Have a lovely time there.

Aviva,

SOOOO love isforbliss's YouTube vids, and you're right, he's beautiful like something out of the Old Testament--all that thick curly dark hair[swoon]

ILoveJen,

The Middle East is dotted with orchards and greenhouses, and because so many of the religious sects centered there practice ritual vegan fasting, fresh fruits and vegetables are imperative to their cuisines. I'd worry about what to eat if I were going to Germany; they put bacon in everything, or South Asia; they put fish sauce in everything(and I hate durian!), but not Israel. Hey, you might even be able to get ahold of some real Essene bread and raw hummus--the cooked kind is their national dish. Safe journey and let us know how it went.

I think it will be easy and you will find lots of wonderful fruit at the markets for very cheap. I don't know about the seasons but you can find plenty of figs, prickly pears, pomegranate, guava, persimmon, and also all the fruits we find in USA. They drink a lot of mint tea, just hot water with fresh mint... even in the summer. Be careful though, best of luck!

> So, don't go to Israel. Who cares. Go to Iran
> instead and see how you're treated there...

Been to Iran as a tourist and found the people to be beautiful and friendly. It was during the revolt against the Shah in 77. I was just out of school and didn't know anything. Struck up a conversation with a soldier who pulled me aside and shared his hashish; he assured me the women were approachable but I never dared speak to one, mysterious and veiled as they were. The taxi drivers honked their horns too much.

Hope to get to Israel one day and stand in the Garden of Gethsemane and walk the walk, and see the greenhouses and shop for fruit and veggies in the markets.

peace and love

Lots of melons, figs, dates, pomegranates in Israel.

Tamukha, Germany and Southeast Asia are great places to get raw foods!Just not in restaurants. No bacon or fish sauce in the fresh produce though.

EricJohannes, well, thanks for the compliment about "teeny-bopper" drooling, seeing as I've unfortunately just turned 40. I only mentioned that that guy David (who I'm vaguely acquainted with in real life) was gorgeous and someone agreed.

Wasn't your comment also irrelevant to the discussion about fruit in Israel?

It seems to me that this board has become very unfriendly. It never used to be bitchy like this. What has happened here?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2009 02:27PM by Aviva.

It's not irrelevant if I aspire to keep the discussion on fruit. Personally, I find it offensive and not particularly peaceful when women objectify men on this board, just as I would expect women to feel the same way if men behaved in a similar manner. Okay, so there's a raw foodist in Israel, what does your personal opinion of his attractiveness have to do with someone looking for info about the produce scene in Israel? In my opinion, it has nothing to with that, and as someone who is 40 years old, I'd think that you would have the logical capacity to see where I'm coming from.

This is what you inspire:

"SOOOO love isforbliss's YouTube vids, and you're right, he's beautiful like something out of the Old Testament--all that thick curly dark hair[swoon]"

I find that to be tedious, immature, shallow, and totally irrelevant. If you think that this board lacks peace, you might want to consider your own role in that as you perpetuate a childish fixation on outer appearance. I notice that no one wants egos around here, but only when it doesn't suit their need to celebrate the ego. That hypocrisy is infinitely conducive to conflict.

People, no politics on this site means no politics on this site. Damn.

Figs are year round aren't they? Maybe not in Israel though, being well above the tropics. Someone once claimed to have eaten actual manna, which they say used to appear with the morning dew in the region during the exodus. It would be cool if someone knew what that actually was/is.

loeve,

In Lutheran school, we were taught that manna is a spongey substance secreted by a variety of locust native to the Middle East. They leave it behind on the brush out there after returning to the skies, and apparently it's high in complex carbs and minerals. Kinda like honey? It would be curious to know what real food historians know about it . . .

..that's as good an explanation as I've heard Tamukha. God gave them quail at first because the Israelites cried out for meat, but that didn't work out so the manna, which was so pure they were, umm, good for the duration according to a Rabbinical source.... just been googling a little

loeve,

Thanks, that's the one I'm sticking to because it makes sense geographically and also has that ephemeral[ha-ha] "something" that makes it sound slightly Old Testament-y miraculous. There are so very many guesses as to what manna may have been--sprouted barley, grass fibers, coriander seeds--it's confusing!

Aviva,
I heartily agree with you re. the bitchiness on the board of late. Your offhand comment was fine. I do not see what the fuss is about.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

> Thanks, that's the one I'm sticking to because it
> makes sense geographically and also has that
> ephemeral "something" that makes it sound slightly
> Old Testament-y miraculous. There are so very
> many guesses as to what manna may have
> been--sprouted barley, grass fibers, coriander
> seeds--it's confusing!

....manna defined as possibly sprouted barley, grass fibers and coriander seeds -- grass and small botanical fruit! I suppose it could even have been a collection of whatever small edibles were available at daybreak, if one is looking for a possible natural explanation, which I am.

Botanists have been borrowing the name 'manna' to name various plant secretions, so now we have true botanical manna, in addition to 'manna from heaven'. I imagine botanical manna can be purchased in shops, or found on menus.

Dawn must still be a special time in the middle east, the plants heavy with dew.