Tasting CamelTourists are sometimes served camel meat as a delicacy in the UAE (check out this review).
For some time the supermarkets in the Emirates have been stocking camel milk chocolate and Camelicious in the milk section (check out this article to see the nutritional richness and the difference drinking camel milk has made to my voice and my appearance).
Gourmet Quail
Now two companies are producing quail and exporting them to the world. They can’t rear the birds fast enough to satisfy the global demand for the gourmet quail. An AMEInfo report (10 June 2009) says that the high temperatures make raising quail a challenging task in the Middle East.
Quail and Health
Check out the nutritional value on quail meat at this link. It has good and bad news: “This food is low in Sodium. It is also a good source of Thiamine, Riboflavin, Iron, Phosphorus, Zinc and Copper, and a very good source of Protein, Niacin, Vitamin B6 and Selenium… This food is high in Cholesterol.”
Trendy yet Traditional
Foodies may think quail is the latest thing with which to give their palate a workout but the locals in these parts have been chomping on quail ever since the prophet Moses led his people around in never ending circles in the desert across from the Red Sea (Check out the actual place on Google/Bible Maps).
Both the Koran and the Hebrew Bible authenticate that quail was provided on the menu by God to Moses and his hungry travelers so there is a divine example and a blessing to be had in the serving and eating of this holy quail.
Quintessentially Emirati
Yes, you can get quail in the USA or the Philippines (often sold on skewers in the streets) and quail has been favored by chefs in France, Malta, Portugal and India but think of the difference in eating quail that has been raised on the Arabian Peninsula where it has been part of the diet for centuries.
Dr Geoff Pound
Image: Finding the holy quail.
