Living in the heart of a fruit growing area has plenty of bonuses, especially when many of the fruits grow in the wild and are there for the picking. You can either gorge yourself as you stroll along, or you can make a fresh fruit salad each day, or even become a domestic Goddess and make jams and chutneys galore!
Citrus fruits
All winter long there are trees full of citrus fruits, filling our lives with their wonderful colours. Starting with their glorious, heavenly scented blossoms and slowly turning into oranges and lemons, tangerines and grapefruits. They’re all here in abundance and begging to be picked, eaten or squeezed. Suddenly, all over the Algarve, there’s homemade marmalade, lemon curd (and everything else these fruits make) being passed on to friends. Grapefruits as big as saucers appear on breakfast tables and there’s no need to buy tangerines or mandarins for Christmas, they’re waiting to be gathered in the garden.
Pomegranates
Pomegranates are said to have originated in Iran many centuries ago, but they’re now grown throughout the Mediterranean and were introduced to the Americas by Spanish settlers, way back in 1769.
The skins of this fruit are really tough but, once you get inside, the fruit is delicious; except for those dratted pips! However, help is at hand. I’ve discovered a gadget in Algarve supermarket Pingo Doce, that effortlessly separates the fruit from the pips and at €5 a pop it’s a Godsend.
Cherries
The plumpest, juiciest and sweetest cherries are found right here in the Algarve. It pays to shop carefully however and to test what’s on offer. The markets provide a variety of different cherries and may show quite a difference in their prices per kilo. I’ve sometimes had to visit at least six stalls before finding the very best cherries at the right price!
Strawberries
The Portuguese strawberries are different to the Spanish variety; they’re smaller, sweeter and juicier by far. Again, you have to shop around to get the right ones at the right price, but the tasting process is delicious!
Did you know that a sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper on a bowl of strawberries brings out the flavour and is a very popular way to eat them? Or even a drizzle of balsamic vinegar will enhance these fruits and make a lovely change from fresh whipped cream!
Plums
Plums were first discovered by the Portuguese in India, from where they introduced them to Brazil. The dark purple plum will fruit first and is ideal for bottling or “canning” as our American cousins call it. Plum jam, plum chutney and plum cake are all very popular at this time of the year. The tarter yellow plum is also very well-liked and is harvested slightly later.
Peaches
The peaches are so juicy that you have to eat them over a bowl to catch their juice. For a short season they are plentiful and inexpensive and when my only peach tree fruited, I kept half the village in fresh peaches for three weeks, as well as making peach jam and peach cobblers. My friend made peach ice cream with them too – yummy.
Nespera (loquats or wollmispel)
In some parts of the world this is considered a rare and expensive fruit, but here in the Algarve it’s as “common as muck” and is often considered to be a weed by the locals. The loquat is the size and colour of an apricot and develops brown patches as it ripens; not the prettiest of fruits. However, you can make fabulous pies and cakes with them!
Avocados
Avocados are popular in the Algarve and all the markets sell not only the fruit, but the trees for your garden. Did you know that it’s quite easy to grow your own from an avocado stone – I’ll have to write another blog on growing your own. Do be aware that you need two trees (to enable cross-pollination) for one to bear fruit! There are several kinds of avocados available here, small with rough skin and larger with smooth skin. I love them all!
Apricots
The crop of this particular tree can be so prolific that it can be overwhelming, with up to one and a half kilos of fruit per day! That is a lot of bottling, preserving and conserving, but it is so worth it for the coming winter months.
Nectarines
My one tree is seven years old and can produce 100 nectarines within two weeks! Luckily this happens after the peach tree has finished producing and I am able to deal with so many new fruits. A preserve made with these scrumptious fruits makes an excellent baste for roast pork and a great alternative to apple sauce.
I have most of the above trees in my garden and enjoy the bountiful crops enormously, but somehow I don’t have much success with my apple and pear trees. I know this must be my fault as both grow all over the Algarve, so any advice is welcome.
I’ve not attempted melons and grapes (they too grow prolifically here) but I do keep everyone I know supplied with different varieties of tomatoes!
I had never heard of a strawberry tree until I came to the Algarve; the fruit on these trees resemble strawberries but that’s all. Strawberries are one of my favourite fruits, but those from the tree have little flavour and their taste is nothing like strawberry plants. However, apart from their beauty, they do have one redeeming feature – medronho, also known as aquardente (firewater) which is a local brew made from these tree strawberries.
Drinking the Algarve fruits
Medronho from the strawberry tree (Arbutus)
The trees are not cultivated but grow wild; the fruit is picked by local farmers who then distil it into medronho. Very few of these farmers have a licence for this operation but the “moonshine” is tolerated by the authorities, who recognise this as a traditional speciality. Needless to say medronho is very strong, it’s not advisable to have more than one and it’s better to leave the car keys at home if you’re going to imbibe!
Brandymel is another strong Algarvean libation and is simply medronho with honey added in the distillation.
Algarve Fruit Liqueurs
Off the shelf
Orange, cherry and peach liqueurs.
Licor de Pěra Rocha do Oeste – made from locally grown pears.
Prickly pear Mojito – made with prickly pear syrup.
Homemade
Oranges, cherries, strawberries, pears, peaches, pomegranates and loquats can all be turned into liqueurs or some form of alcoholic brew. You can even use two or more different fruits for a single liqueur.
Then of course there are the famous Portuguese wines made from the grapes grown here. Wine made in the Algarve is delicious and is often not expensive.
Buying fresh
Wild fruit or that from your own garden is so different from that bought in a supermarket. Buying fresh produce from the many farmers markets here is almost as good as picking it yourself; because very often it has been picked by the farmer that same day. Many fruits in the supermarket will be days or weeks old and have often been waxed or sprayed with pesticides.
I still recall being astounded at the flavour of the fruit and vegetables when I first arrived in the Algarve. Radishes that were hot, really hot. Tomatoes and carrots that were sweet, filling my palette with flavours that I had not tasted for many years. How the citrus fruits exploded with aroma as I sliced into them and the sheer delight of actually smelling fruit as I picked it off the tree or purchased it from the market stalls.
Yes, moving to the Algarve was the most fruitful move of my life I reckon.
Brought to you by Meravista – the place where smart people search for Algarve property for sale.
Fruits of the Algarve
by Sun’s Dragon
Living in the heart of a fruit growing area has plenty of bonuses, especially when many of the fruits grow in the wild and are there for the picking. You can either gorge yourself as you stroll along, or you can make a fresh fruit salad each day, or even become a domestic Goddess and make jams and chutneys galore!
Citrus fruits
All winter long there are trees full of citrus fruits, filling our lives with their wonderful colours. Starting with their glorious, heavenly scented blossoms and slowly turning into oranges and lemons, tangerines and grapefruits. They’re all here in abundance and begging to be picked, eaten or squeezed. Suddenly, all over the Algarve, there’s homemade marmalade, lemon curd (and everything else these fruits make) being passed on to friends. Grapefruits as big as saucers appear on breakfast tables and there’s no need to buy tangerines or mandarins for Christmas, they’re waiting to be gathered in the garden.
Pomegranates
Pomegranates are said to have originated in Iran many centuries ago, but they’re now grown throughout the Mediterranean and were introduced to the Americas by Spanish settlers, way back in 1769.
The skins of this fruit are really tough but, once you get inside, the fruit is delicious; except for those dratted pips! However, help is at hand. I’ve discovered a gadget in Algarve supermarket Pingo Doce, that effortlessly separates the fruit from the pips and at €5 a pop it’s a Godsend.
Cherries
The plumpest, juiciest and sweetest cherries are found right here in the Algarve. It pays to shop carefully however and to test what’s on offer. The markets provide a variety of different cherries and may show quite a difference in their prices per kilo. I’ve sometimes had to visit at least six stalls before finding the very best cherries at the right price!
Strawberries
The Portuguese strawberries are different to the Spanish variety; they’re smaller, sweeter and juicier by far. Again, you have to shop around to get the right ones at the right price, but the tasting process is delicious!
Did you know that a sprinkling of fresh ground black pepper on a bowl of strawberries brings out the flavour and is a very popular way to eat them? Or even a drizzle of balsamic vinegar will enhance these fruits and make a lovely change from fresh whipped cream!
Plums
Plums were first discovered by the Portuguese in India, from where they introduced them to Brazil. The dark purple plum will fruit first and is ideal for bottling or “canning” as our American cousins call it. Plum jam, plum chutney and plum cake are all very popular at this time of the year. The tarter yellow plum is also very well-liked and is harvested slightly later.
Peaches
The peaches are so juicy that you have to eat them over a bowl to catch their juice. For a short season they are plentiful and inexpensive and when my only peach tree fruited, I kept half the village in fresh peaches for three weeks, as well as making peach jam and peach cobblers. My friend made peach ice cream with them too – yummy.
Nespera (loquats or wollmispel)
In some parts of the world this is considered a rare and expensive fruit, but here in the Algarve it’s as “common as muck” and is often considered to be a weed by the locals. The loquat is the size and colour of an apricot and develops brown patches as it ripens; not the prettiest of fruits. However, you can make fabulous pies and cakes with them!
Avocados
Avocados are popular in the Algarve and all the markets sell not only the fruit, but the trees for your garden. Did you know that it’s quite easy to grow your own from an avocado stone – I’ll have to write another blog on growing your own. Do be aware that you need two trees (to enable cross-pollination) for one to bear fruit! There are several kinds of avocados available here, small with rough skin and larger with smooth skin. I love them all!
Apricots
The crop of this particular tree can be so prolific that it can be overwhelming, with up to one and a half kilos of fruit per day! That is a lot of bottling, preserving and conserving, but it is so worth it for the coming winter months.
Nectarines
My one tree is seven years old and can produce 100 nectarines within two weeks! Luckily this happens after the peach tree has finished producing and I am able to deal with so many new fruits. A preserve made with these scrumptious fruits makes an excellent baste for roast pork and a great alternative to apple sauce.
I have most of the above trees in my garden and enjoy the bountiful crops enormously, but somehow I don’t have much success with my apple and pear trees. I know this must be my fault as both grow all over the Algarve, so any advice is welcome.
I’ve not attempted melons and grapes (they too grow prolifically here) but I do keep everyone I know supplied with different varieties of tomatoes!
I had never heard of a strawberry tree until I came to the Algarve; the fruit on these trees resemble strawberries but that’s all. Strawberries are one of my favourite fruits, but those from the tree have little flavour and their taste is nothing like strawberry plants. However, apart from their beauty, they do have one redeeming feature – medronho, also known as aquardente (firewater) which is a local brew made from these tree strawberries.
Drinking the Algarve fruits
Medronho from the strawberry tree (Arbutus)
The trees are not cultivated but grow wild; the fruit is picked by local farmers who then distil it into medronho. Very few of these farmers have a licence for this operation but the “moonshine” is tolerated by the authorities, who recognise this as a traditional speciality. Needless to say medronho is very strong, it’s not advisable to have more than one and it’s better to leave the car keys at home if you’re going to imbibe!
Brandymel is another strong Algarvean libation and is simply medronho with honey added in the distillation.
Algarve Fruit Liqueurs
Off the shelf
Orange, cherry and peach liqueurs.
Licor de Pěra Rocha do Oeste – made from locally grown pears.
Prickly pear Mojito – made with prickly pear syrup.
Homemade
Oranges, cherries, strawberries, pears, peaches, pomegranates and loquats can all be turned into liqueurs or some form of alcoholic brew. You can even use two or more different fruits for a single liqueur.
Then of course there are the famous Portuguese wines made from the grapes grown here. Wine made in the Algarve is delicious and is often not expensive.
Buying fresh
Wild fruit or that from your own garden is so different from that bought in a supermarket. Buying fresh produce from the many farmers markets here is almost as good as picking it yourself; because very often it has been picked by the farmer that same day. Many fruits in the supermarket will be days or weeks old and have often been waxed or sprayed with pesticides.
I still recall being astounded at the flavour of the fruit and vegetables when I first arrived in the Algarve. Radishes that were hot, really hot. Tomatoes and carrots that were sweet, filling my palette with flavours that I had not tasted for many years. How the citrus fruits exploded with aroma as I sliced into them and the sheer delight of actually smelling fruit as I picked it off the tree or purchased it from the market stalls.
Yes, moving to the Algarve was the most fruitful move of my life I reckon.
Brought to you by Meravista – the place where smart people search for Algarve property for sale.