"Camel Goodness"

It was over two years ago that Liz and I packed up our life in Japan and came here to this oasis city in the Arabian desert - a place which couldn't be further from our comfort zone...or our friends!! It has been an adventure alright. Sometimes frustrating, sometimes exciting, this has proven to be an extraordinary place. Some things blow your mind in a fantastic way, such as standing at the foot of the colossal Burj Khalifa and looking up... and some things blow your mind in a bad way, such as the ultra-extreme disparity between uber-rich and miserably-poor. But it's an adventure which we are both grateful for, and one day we will look back on our time in the UAE as a really valuable experience.

I can't believe how fast this two and a bit years have passed.

But enough of the retrospective philosophical blathering... allow me to get to the point of this post, which is that today I ticked another box in the "unusual UAE experiences" checklist: I drank camel's milk. Now, Liz and I noticed camel's milk pretty much the first time we went to a supermarket here. The idea of it is nothing new to either of us now, but I'd never actually taken it off the shelf and tried it. I'd thought about it, and intended to give it a try, but always put it off and put it off... but not today. Today I tried it. 

Yes, that's right - it's called "Camelicious Camel Goodness"

A student at the university where I work told me once about how camel milk had medicinal properties and was extremely good for you. He told me that he had recently had a seriously bad stomach bug, and the standard medicine prescribed by his doctor didn't have much effect. The doctor then prescribed him camel's milk, and within a day or two of drinking camel's milk the tests showed that the bacteria in his stomach had reduced dramatically and he felt much better. This story made me all the more curious about camel's milk. After a little research, it became clear that camel milk is indeed nutritious. It has more good things than cow's milk, and generally fewer bad things, too. I'm no expert so forgive me for not going into details, but basically, it's high in iron, calcium, vitamins and minerals, good for your skin,   immune system, hair and nails etc. It doesn't have much lactose, so it's good for people who suffer from lactose intolerance, and it is good for the digestive system and doesn't leave you feeling bloated like cow's milk can. It's also lower in fat than cow's milk.

Looks like normal cow's milk, right?

As for the taste... well... I wasn't a fan. It was kind of salty. It wasn't as strong and stinky as, say, goat's milk, but it did taste different from cow's milk. It felt lighter (like skim milk?) but had that raw milky "straight from the udder" taste about it, which I found a little off-putting. That and the knowledge that I was drinking CAMEL milk... a little strange. That said though, it wasn't revolting. I could drink it again if I had to. I'm not sure that I'll buy it again though. Perhaps if I ever get a stomach bug... 

If you are curious about the health benefits of camel's milk, check out their website: www.camelicious.ae where they have all sorts of information. It seems camel milk is highly regulated and difficult to get your hands on in the USA, but it IS there, and I think it's obtainable in NZ also, but perhaps not readily. 

So, camel milk - CHECK!!!

I wonder what my next "UAE experience" will be...

last picture courtesy of gulfnews.com