Salty Lemons

street vendor juicing pomegranates outside Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia Museum)
Istanbul, Turkey from my 2011 archive

pomegranates on ice outside Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia Museum)
Istanbul, Turkey from my 2011 archive

September 20, 2011

Forbidden Fruit

There is an expression in Chinese that roughly translates to "watch what you eat," or "refrain from eating." It does not have so much to do with dieting, as with being cautious in indulging in something you know is not good for you.

I have good self control when it comes to limiting foods that are artificial, or that are rich in fats and sugars. But I could do much better when it comes to food safety. I have learned my lesson many times. After two very serious bouts of food poisoning earlier this year, I am being good. So far.

Fresh pomegranate juice is tempting me at every corner. Everywhere in the city, there are beautiful ruby red pomegranates that are squeezed by order. And it is inexpensive. In the past I would have thought nothing of it, but like I said, I went through two serious bouts of food poisoning, one that included oysters. Not fun.

Although the tap water is perfectly safe in Istanbul, The Swede and I are being cautious. There is nothing worse than getting sick while traveling. So we have stuck to bottled water, even when brushing our teeth. I learned this "trick" years ago. No matter how carefully we ate, my family and I always got sick on trips to Asia. We were told that even brushing our teeth with tap water could cause illness. On a trip to Thailand, my Mother and I were doing great sticking to the bottled water routine. No sickness. Then we visited a roadside farm stand where we indulged in fresh squeezed orange juice. Unpasteurized orange juice. My Mother was instantly sick, a few hours later it was my turn. Conveniently being in the middle of nowhere at the Golden Triangle, a very kind local man let me use his bathroom, which turned out to be a wooden shack. No comment.

So alas, no pomegranate juice for me this trip. (But secretly, I keep thinking maybe I should have it right before the flight home. If I do get sick, at least I will already be on my way home...)

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