Typical Calabrian fruit: what to eat in every season

Are you coming to Calabria? Then you should know that you will eat exceptional fruit here. Plump, juicy oranges and sweet figs for dessert. You will discover unique flavours such as bergamot, annona and citron. The climate blesses this land and the land produces in abundance: a concentration of colours, aromas and intense flavours, deeply connected to the territory.

Each season brings different fruits, all of them delicious. Let's go and discover them.

It is thanks to the wonderful combination of warm climate, Mediterranean influence and fertile soil that Calabria is a paradise for fresh fruit during the warm seasons. Starting with figs, because Calabrian figs are famous for their soft flesh and sweetness. The Dottato variety of Cosenza PDO Figs are excellent, but you will find trees laden with ripe fruit, ready to eat, and it will be difficult to stop yourself. A pleasure you can take home with you, in the form of "crocette", "palloni" or covered in chocolate. Real delicacies.

Sun, sea, golden sand. The atmosphere is perfect for enjoying tropical fruit, but strictly made in Calabria. We are in Catona, a hamlet in the municipality of Reggio Calabria, where an exceptional mango is grown, rich in vitamins and beta-carotene, and the best time to taste it is at the end of August.

In Calabria, there is a place where strawberries are large, red and juicy. The strawberries grown in Acconia, in the municipality of Curinga, are among the best in Italy. This is also the right time to enjoy Rocca Imperiale PGI Lemons, eaten fresh or in the form of juice or ice cream. The tree blooms at least four times a year, producing characteristic fruits for each flowering. In summer, there is no Calabrian kitchen that does not have baskets full of sweet and crunchy peaches and nectarines. And what about apricots? Delicious and very sweet, those that grow on the hills along the Ionian coast of Cosenza are particularly delicious. Travelling along the Calabrian coastline, you will constantly come across prickly pears, fruits that must be 'conquered' with care and attention because of their thorns, but the effort is rewarded by their taste, which has an ancestral link with the South and the Mediterranean.

Fruits that are part of the local identity, linked to the territory, such as watermelon and gialletto, the yellow melon with golden skin. Two must-haves on summer tables, to be eaten traditionally at the end of a meal or in fruit salads, or even skewered and served on the beach. Melon is the star of the summer, and you will see hundreds of them sold directly by farmers in fruit markets or by street vendors. The secret to buying the ripest watermelon? 'Knock' on it, tapping specific points on the skin to check its ripeness. But one thing is certain: there will always be a watermelon or gialletto seller ready to offer you a slice to taste.

In Calabria, you can eat oranges even in August. The Biondo Tardivo di Trebisacce is an ancient and prized variety of orange native to the Alto Ionio Cosentino area, which ripens in late spring, from March to July. It is a beautiful and delicious orange, with juicy, sweet-sour flesh. It can be eaten in segments, revelling in its aroma, or in the form of juice. It is recognised as a Traditional Agri-Food Product (PAT) and a Slow Food Presidium.

When the enveloping heat of Calabrian summers gives way to autumn, the scenery changes and different fruits ripen. Citrus fruits are the absolute stars, a true excellence. Bergamot from Reggio Calabria, the most aromatic of all citrus fruits, grows on the coast, the ideal habitat for this fruit. Enjoying it here is a privilege, considering that Calabria produces 90% of the world's supply. You can eat it fresh or as an ingredient in many typical recipes; its grated or dried zest adds a unique touch to dishes. Calabrian green gold is famous for its DPO Essential Oil, used in perfumery and rich in antioxidants, cardiovascular benefits and cholesterol-regulating properties.

We bet you've never tasted annona! It is a tropical fruit with many beneficial properties that has found its ideal microclimate in Calabria and has obtained the Municipal Designation of Origin (De.Co.) in Reggio Calabria. This healthy superfood is green on the outside and has a scaly skin. As good as a dessert, its flesh is sweet and creamy like ice cream, white with black seeds, a sour aftertaste and the scent of candyfloss. If you already want to try it, you should know that it is eaten cut in half, scooping out the flesh with a teaspoon.