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5 pounds
of jamEasy
By Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt
Published 2021
Arasiya are small greenish-purple plums native to Gaza. They are too sour to be enjoyed fresh, so they are used to make a much-loved jam, very thick and tart. For Gazan Palestinians in diaspora, a jar of arasiya jam is a treasured gift. With tree populations (located mostly in the hills along Gaza’s border) quickly dwindling due to systematic Israeli land clearing, the plums are becoming a costly rarity. Our attempt to procure these plums and cook them into jam in the summer o