Fruits in Egypt

Despite the fact that many people think that Egypt is a solid desert and there are no fruits there, they are mistaken. Due to the warm climate of Egypt and the presence of fertile soil in the Nile River valley, the country grows the necessary amount of vegetables and fruits for the local population, and even manages to actively export them. Vegetable crops are harvested 2-3 times a year, and fruits 1-2 times a year.

What are the fruits in Egypt?

Unfortunately, in Egypt you will not find such an abundance of exotic fruits as, for example, in Southeast Asian countries, but still some interesting fruits ripen here. Prices, of course, are much lower than in Russia, but the cost strongly depends on the ripening season. In a good season and with a large harvest, prices drop significantly, and outside the ripening season, fruits can cost even more than in the Russian Federation and other Nordic countries.

From local fruits in Egypt, you can try the usual strawberries, oranges, tangerines, pomegranates, pears, grapes, melons, watermelons, and exotic mangoes, dates, prickly pear, figs, kumquat, medlar, ashta (aka noina or sugar apple). Pineapples, avocados, apples, coconuts grow very little or not at all in Egypt, and most often imported.

If you are not familiar with such exotics as prickly pear, medlar and ashta (neuna), then we advise you to take a closer look at them. Read more about exotic fruits here...

• Prickly pear or cactus fruit - small oblong cactus fruits from yellow to purple. The outside is very prickly, so you need to ask the seller to clean it. Inside, the flesh matches the color of the fruit with many small hard bones, tastes sweet-sour, refreshing, reminiscent of guava, kiwi, melon and cucumber.

  

• Medlar is a small orange fruit with a smooth skin, orange flesh with a stone inside, tastes like a mixture of plum, apricot, cherry.

  

• Ashta, noina or sugar apple – a large fruit weighing up to half a kilogram, the skin is bumpy green. Inside is a very pleasant-tasting, sweet, fragrant pulp that you need to eat with a spoon. But the unripe fruit is hard in texture and absolutely not tasty, it looks like a pumpkin. Therefore, after the purchase, gently let it lie down for a day or two, it ripens and becomes very tasty.

  

Fruit seasons in Egypt

All the variety of Egyptian fruits can not be found all year round. Each of them grows in its own season, sometimes periods can start a little earlier or last for a month. It all depends on the characteristics of the cultivation of a particular farmer.

At the beginning of the ripening season, the first fruit harvests usually do not differ in sweetness and aroma, unlike later harvests. But, in general, late autumn and summer are the best time for a variety of local fruits. The rest of the time, the counters do not remain empty and there will always be something to eat, but you will have to pay a little more, and look for some fruits.

Where to buy fruit?

If you come to Egypt on a tourist ticket, then some of the fruits can be tasted at the hotel buffet. Usually seasonal and inexpensive types are laid out, such as oranges, guavas, watermelons, melons, tangerines, pomegranates. Moreover, it is fair to say that they are not always of good quality, but more often they spread unripe or substandard fruits. Thus, you will not be able to try something interesting and exotic at the hotel, you will have to look outside the hotel.

For such cases in Egypt there are supermarkets and markets where you can find a large number of different types of fruits. But once again we recall that the availability depends on the seasonality of a particular instance. There are also outdoor fruit stands. In markets and street stalls, prices are not always indicated, so it's easy to run into a deception from the seller's side, who will not fail to take advantage of the opportunity to "make money" on tourists. To avoid this, it is worthwhile to inquire in advance about the current price. This can be done by first going to one of the supermarkets and looking at the prices there. Of course, the entire range of seasonal goods may not always be available there, but you can get your bearings. And, of course, make sure not to buy fruits more expensive than at home, unfortunately this is common here.

If you can double-check or weigh the weight of a fruit package in a store, you can't do it on the market. Therefore, it is worthwhile to closely monitor the actions of the market seller so that he does not wind up the weight, and accordingly does not overestimate the price. In addition, in the store you choose the goods from the counter yourself, and in the market the cunning sellers will not give you a choice and will be very active in putting everything in the package for you. There is a high probability that a fruit of poor quality will be slipped into the package.

A fruit vendor at a market in Egypt

It is better to buy fruit in the markets for the local currency – Egyptian pounds, although they will accept dollars or euros from you, but the change will still be in pounds, often it is recalculated at a lower rate. In supermarkets, in any case, payment is made only in local pounds.

Fruit prices vary from market to supermarket, from season to season. It is cheaper to buy at the height of the season, when the shopping malls are filled with fruits. At this time, the prices in the supermarket and the market will not differ much. For example, local markets will ask for 2 to 5 pounds for 1 prickly pear fruit, 25 pounds for a kilogram of strawberries, 50 pounds of oranges, 10 pounds of figs, bananas, agave, mango, 30 to 50 pounds, pomegranate, strawberries, 20 pounds. But all these are very relative prices, so before buying, in any case, we advise you to take a closer look at the prices in supermarkets.