Part 4: I Love Food markets!

#1: Mahne Yehuda market

Food markets have always been "my thing". In any country/ city that I visit, I'd always like to check out their local markets to get an instant feel of their local produce, prices and spices. I think it's one of the best ways to quickly get acquainted with a place's culture. So I was super (x10) excited when the morning came for us to visit the Mahne Yehuda market in Jerusalem with our food guide, Tamar.

Our first stop was to see freshly baked Ashtanur (flat bread) bread from the Ashtanur Bakery (125 Agripas Street).  Ash = "life", Tanur = "oven" so this translates to life from the oven as the oven gives life to bread, and the bread gives life to us. This bakery still does stuff the uber traditional way and I got a chance to make my life's first bread from scratch!! The bread keeps for 6 months and was what pilgrims etc. used to eat while they walked for months.

Boy, that oven was soooooooooooo hot, the first time I slapped my dough into the oven, I pulled out too quickly and the dough fell into the blazing abyss. My 2nd try produced the bread that I'm holding here :)

We were then brought to The Natural Choice (111 Agripas Street) where we were introduced to the new wave of organic food that is rising in popularity in Israel. This is a bakery that only uses organic and natural ingredients and is so popular, they often have pre-ordered boxes of Kosher breads and pastries to be shipped to parties in New York! Also available are gluten-free, sugar-free, spelt (low in gluten, high in protein) and preservative-free products. :)

For me, the highlight of the tour really began when we entered the heart of the market. First stop: a booth owned by The Etrog Man, a vendor, inventor, farmer, healer and spiritual advisor. Uzi-Eli Chezi is one of the most famous faces in Mahne Yehuda market. He claims that his Etrog-based juice, soaps and creams can cure any ill, O_O including helping a woman become pregnant, having an easy delivery, an abundance of breast milk, improved masculine virility and smooth cardiac function etc.

[Bottom left: Inhaling Etrog with Paco; Bottom right: Leslie getting 'blessed' by the Etrog Man]

Our tour started with him telling us the tragic story about his pet goat and all that remains of it, the goat's horns (which he now uses to bless people, see Leslie above!). The long story short is that he used to suckle milk directly from the teat of the family goat, which was then killed and eaten when the family decided to migrate from Yemen to Israel in 1948 when Israel became independent. 

Amongst the citrus mists of Etrog and creams purporting to give you youth and baby-like skin, were lots of laughter and amusement. He even gave us a short demonstration on How To Be Happy - JUST LAUGH!!! as he started bellowing in laughter. It was pretty crazy. O_O

The fruit I'm holding is the famous Etrog, the yellow citron!

He then asked me to draw anything - and based on that, my future was deciphered. (lol) - He said that I'm a girl whose mouth and heart are one (in sync) and that I'm living the present and reality. I need to be free and independent in everything I do and to create. I love a warm and loving house, my home is my shrine and I am an excellent cook (lol, all the food bloggers are!). And finally, that if the universe is going to test me in my pursuits, it's like a highway with stops and I just have to press on, demonstrate desire and succeed.

Next up - to the cheese shop!! There are more than >1000 cheeses here! and is rated #5 in the world for variety. Also available are obviously Kosher cheeses which must be made according to Jewish law. Don't miss the Swiss Gruyere (2 years aging) and the Holland Gouda (green pesto). My favorite was the 12-year old gouda, one of the oldest cheeses in the world that tastes remarkably like toffee!

I was amazed by the red and green cheeses - which's basically paprika and pesto cheese! ^_^

The vibrant, colourful market sells everything from fruits and vegetables to spices, cheese, meat, fish, clothes, bread, coffee and sweets. 

That's Paco eating Helva Kingdom's fruit leather! :)

My all-time favourite Middle Eastern sweet is Helva (a sweet made from Tahini- white sesame) so just imagine my excitement when I saw rows after rows of crumbly helva at the Helva Kingdom! Man, I would totally name it Helva HEAVEN!!!! :) Now I've seen plenty of helva throughout my travel in the Middle East, but to see soooooooooooooooo many varieties all at once (cherry, coffee, expresso, chocolate etc.) was a first!

[Top: Helva, Bottom: Kugel]

We also got introduced to the Kugel, which is a baked Ashkenazi Jewish casserole, commonly made from egg noodles, eggs, caramelized sugar and black pepper which is usually served as a side dish on Shabbat. Again, this reminded us that food represents tradition, and that Israeli food is really a blend of different cultures brought in by the Jewish diaspora.

Concluding thoughts: Mahne Yehuda currently has 450 stall vendors and in some ways, faces the pressures to remain an authentic market as summer festivals and swanky coffee houses slowly make their way in. Let's hope the market continues to keep its roots (pun intended :p), fruits and vegetables, seasonal produce, fresh herbs and olive oil and continue to keep locals and visitors alike enthralled. :)

Top Tips:

1) Buy a Mahne Yehuda tasting card for only NIS 99 that allows you to hop from one vendor to the other.

2) For a self-navigated tour of the colourful market, this is a good place to start.

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Lunch at the nearby Iraqi market before trip to the Dead Sea:

Grabbed lunch at Morduch (Agripas 70), opened since 1982 and considered one of the best places in Israel for Kubbeh. Specialities here include kubbeh - fried, or cooked in 3 various soups.

Kubbeh (Kibbeh) is a traditional Iraqi Jewish food made of bulgur wheat and stuffed with minced onions and ground red meat (usually beef, lamb or goat). The best known type is shaped like a torpedo (first picture below) but can be made into spheres or patties, baked or broiled in broth (like the soups shown below). 

Fried Kubbeh; Kubbeh Hamousta in yellow chamutzta soup which is sour from the abundance of chard; Marak Kubbeh Adom - literally means "red kubbeh soup" from the sweet red beet broth

The 3rd soup is not shown here but it's Kubbeh Shel Pa'am - which is very similar to Kubbeh Hamousta but with the addition of copious amounts of garlic.

Foodprinted on 5 September 2012, Wednesday

#2: Souk Ha Carmel marketplace

One of the 5 markets we would visit during the Taste of Israel Adventure was Tel Aviv's Carmel market, also known as Souk Ha Carmel. It's part flea market (like our Pasar Malam), with vendors selling clothes, souvenirs, cosmetics, cigarettes etc. and part food market with fresh and dried fruits, exotic spices, local olive oil, fresh meat, fish and poultry, imported cheeses, helva and baklava etc.

One interesting fruit I notice everywhere is Pomegranates! I hadn't known about the religious significance of pomegranates up till this trip. The pomegranate has been mentioned in many ancient texts, notably the Book of Exodus, the Homeric Hymns and the Quran.

To the Jews, the pomegranate is a symbol of righteousness because it is said to have 613 seeds, which corresponds with the 613 mitzvot, or commandments/ good deeds, of the Torah (Jewish bible). This is why pomegranates are eaten on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year) to wish for good deeds and a year as plentiful with goodness as the seeds of the pomegranate. The pomegranate also represents fruitfulness, knowledge, learning and wisdom. Interestingly, many Jewish scholars also believe that the pomegranate was the "forbidden fruit" of the Garden of Eden.

To the Christians, the pomegranate is a symbol of the resurrection and the hope of eternal life. Because of its abundance of seeds, it also symbolizes royalty and the church, where the seeds represent the many believers who make up one universal church. To the Chinese, it symbolizes wealth and many sons.

Verdict: Souk Ha Carmel is rather small, unexciting and pales starkly in comparison to Mahne Yehuda. But I bought my life's first date juice and fig juice and OMG, they are SUPER AMAZING!!!!! ^_^ and that alone, is worth the trip. :)

Foodprinted on 6 September 2012, Thursday


#3: Old city of Jaffa - the new port marketplace and local tastings

The Jaffa port is known in biblical lore as the site of Jonah's unfortunate swallowing by a whale, but in modern times it is better known as a hotspot of avant-garde art, cutting-edge restaurants, and now, a brand-spanking new market that aims to satisfy the hungriest of shoppers. Oh, and it's air-conditioned too (!!!), a respite from the heat of the Middle East.

Hayarok (The Green) features organic produce, mostly sourced from villages in Central Israel. I got the idea of putting coconut oil into my vegetable blends from them, and bought some chia seeds and chlorophyll too! 

Port 19 features fine sausages, from charcutier Alan talmor, complete with picked cabbage and mustard. Yum! :-)

Jaffa Juice offers refreshing, freshly squeezed seasonal fruit juice (orange, lemonade, grapefruit, beetroot, carrot, pomegranate, lemon-ginger, rimonana- pomegranate and nana mint) to quench parched shoppers' throats, especially with its ultra good location right at the door leading to the sunny riverside port.

Knafeh at the Port: I had the best Knafeh, a traditional Arab cheese pastry soaked in sweet syrup in Nablus, Palestine where it originates from. But this one at Jaffa, made by Danny Phillips and Mati Zadok comes pretty close. It resembles a nest of ultra fine strings of noodles, spread with soft cheese and topped with more pastry. Often, crushed green pistachios adorn the top to garnish (see pic below). 

Hummus Abu Ismail is opened by two brothers from the Hummus Younis shop on Tel Aviv's Ibn Gvirol Blvd. I was largely of the view that all hummuses taste the same, and you can't really go wrong with them. But whoaaaaa, the hummus here is actually really, really smooth and good!! Apparently the secret is in blending the chickpeas with ice. :) They sell hummus with toppings like ful (fava beans), masbaha (hummus with tahini), hummus with ground meat and also falafel, labaneh (yogurt cheese) and homemade pickled veggies.

Zilber Deli bar is a sandwich shop using Zilber sausages from the Zilber meat factory that specializes in non-kosher salami since 1938. We got to sample the roast beef, corned beef, chicken breast, proscuitto, ham, bacon...mmmmmmm, I like! :)

There are also boutique chocolate shops, spice shops, more helva stalls (!!!), wine shops, fancy kitchen gadgets store and a tapas bar to name a few of the interesting things in the market. I think it's well worth a visit for something different before it starts getting popular with the crowds!

There are 5 markets we visited in total. Read about #4 market in Nazareth here and #5 market in Old Jerusalem.

Click here to read Part 1 , Part 2 and Part 3 of the trip.

Foodprinted on 6 September 2012, Thursday