The Lebanese roots of this family business were first planted in lower Manhattan, in 1886, then transplanted to Brooklyn in the 1950s. From its inception Joseph Shalhoub & Son was a Middle Eastern bakery, but by the early 1960s it was dedicated to a single brand line, named for the current, fourth-generation owners of the business, Joseph and Raymond.
Joray fruit rolls (at Fairway, about 65 cents each) are a sweetened, individually portioned version of a confection called amardeen, or dried apricot paste. All the Joray flavors — grape and green apple are shown, backlit, in closeup — are based on this apricot paste and are bejeweled with bits of the fruit. In turn the Joray rolls became the model for the ubiquitous fruit roll-ups that debuted in the 1980s. Those nationally distributed products, however, tend to be rubbery rather than thin and engagingly chewy — hence Joray's affectionate nickname, fruit leather.
Joseph Shalhoub & Son
1258 Prospect Ave. (Greenwood Ave.-Reeve Pl.), Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn (not open to retail customers)
718-871-6300
www.JorayCandy.com
