Sometimes when I go to the grocery store, the produce is in terrible shape. I have to re-do my weekly meal plan on the fly because the broccoli is moldy and the green beans have spots all over them and the cabbage is black around the edges and the bananas are rotting in a swarm of flies and the green onions are that freaky huge kind. And this is the stuff out on display, mind you. I sometimes wonder if there is a standard for putting a batch of produce out for purchase, and how low it must be if moldy broccoli makes the cut time after time.
Other times - and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the pattern - the produce is all gleaming heaps of fresh, verdant fruits and vegetables, and I don't even have to pick over the spoiled stuff to get at the good pieces. I love those days, and Monday was one of them. Here's a look at a good fruit day, and the prices I pay for what I buy.
(Keep in mind that to stave off sticker shock, I've made the conscious decision that UAE prices are a firm normal for me. So while I want to hear what you pay for strawberries (for example), and while I am capable of being happy for you and your rock-bottom prices, please don't judge me for spending what I do. Usually, it's buy strawberries at x price, or buy strawberries never. I choose to buy strawberries, every time.)
Bananas, usually from the Philippines (does the US have country of origin labeling these days?). These cost 5.4 dhs per kilo, and I bought 1.5 kilos for a total of 8.4 dhs. Translation: 67 cents per pound. There's not a whole lot of change in the banana stock levels or prices throughout the year. They almost always come from the Philippines, and almost always cost around 6 dhs/kilo.
Peaches, usually from Spain, Turkey, France, or miscellaneous Arab countries. These are prohibitively expensive during most of the year, but on this shopping trip the peaches from Spain were 8.95 dhs/kilo, an absolute steal. I bought 1.75 kilos for a total of 15.60 dhs. Translation: $1.10 per pound. I should note that on the same day, there were peaches from France for 30 dhs/kilo ($3.70/lb).
Strawberries, my favorite. As the year progresses, these come from different countries. In the winter, we get Ethiopian and Egyptian strawberries. Now, they are primarily from the US, and these particular ones cost the equivalent of $4.38/lb. Spinney's sometimes has some from Belgium that are the most delicious strawberries I've ever tasted, but they haven't been around recently. It's probably better that way, since they cost something like $8/lb and I still bought them. Only occasionally, and then Jeremy and I hoarded them to ourselves instead of wasting them on our kids' undeveloped palates, but still.*
Other times - and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the pattern - the produce is all gleaming heaps of fresh, verdant fruits and vegetables, and I don't even have to pick over the spoiled stuff to get at the good pieces. I love those days, and Monday was one of them. Here's a look at a good fruit day, and the prices I pay for what I buy.
(Keep in mind that to stave off sticker shock, I've made the conscious decision that UAE prices are a firm normal for me. So while I want to hear what you pay for strawberries (for example), and while I am capable of being happy for you and your rock-bottom prices, please don't judge me for spending what I do. Usually, it's buy strawberries at x price, or buy strawberries never. I choose to buy strawberries, every time.)
Mandarins, usually from Spain or Australia - 6.95 dhs/kilo (86 cents per pound).
Limes, always from Brazil (which makes for great authentic Brazilian Lemonade) - 4.9 dhs/kilo (60 cents per pound).
Apples. Oh, apples. My love for apples is second only to strawberries, but it can't be just any apple. My favorite is Fuji, which are unfortunately rare around here. We survived on Gala (from the US or France) for a while, then switched to Ambrosia (from Italy). When there were Fuji apples, they came from China and looked wan and unappetizing. This time, for the first time, I saw decent-looking Fujis from South Africa, and snatched them up at 5.45 dhs/kilo (67 cents per pound, which price I would not believe except I still have the receipt).
So there you have it. These are the lowest fruit prices I've seen since moving here, and we are loving it!
*Upon reflection, I was really surprised the strawberries were so cheap, so I took another look at the receipt. It turns out I made a mistake somewhere in the conversion from pint to kilo to pound to dirham to dollar. I've updated the post to reflect the correct prices.