204 CultureShock! Egypt
Bacterial Remedy
Personally, I tend to ‘eat like an Egyptian’. If Egyptians eat the
food, I eat the food. But like anyone else, I have particular likes and
dislikes, so some types of food I avoid. There are a couple of little
tricks that help avoid some of the most common sources of bacteria
that can result in diarrhoea, or ‘Pharaoh’s curse’, as it is referred
to by tourists. Most of the time Pharaoh’s curse is not serious,
just uncomfortable. One neat trick I learned from my Egyptian
friends to avoid getting bacteria from salads is to top them with
freshly squeezed lemon juice or a little vinegar. Whereas cooking
kills bacteria, fresh salad ingredients harbour the little culprits.
Anything with a lot of acid will often take care of the squiggly
bacteria that can hide on freshly washed lettuce, cucumbers and
tomato skins. One of the greatest street dining delights are felafel
(fried chickpea or broad bean) sandwiches. They are usually served
with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes on top of the felafel
in a piece of Egyptian bread. Just ask the vendor for a piece of
lemon and most will gladly accommodate you. I even follow the
Egyptian style and squeeze lemon on salads at fi ve-star restaurants or
at home—just in case.Frankly, if you are going to stay in Egypt for any
time, you must throw aside some ingrained notions
of what constitutes cleanliness about food. Eat only
well done meat, fowl, fish or eggs no matter who
cooks them.Fruits, Vegetables, Breads and Sweets
Fruit and vegetable stalls along Cairo streets provide you
with not only some of the best tasting products anywhere,
but with a visual smorgasbord.
In stall after stall or in small shops, proud shopkeepers
display fruits and vegetables at the peak of ripeness. Fruits
and vegetables are not picked green and stored for days
or weeks before being transported to market as they are
in many Western societies. Produce you see at Egyptian
souks may well have been picked the day before and
brought by truck or donkey cart to the market overnight.
Fresh warm bread and sweet pastries make your mouth
water as you walk among the stalls of souks or meander
into the corner bakery. Try them. They taste as good as
they smell!