Spain probably has some of the best produce in the world (in my opinion). The country exports a lot of fruits and vegetables to the rest of Europe, and what stays in Spain is fantastic, and pretty local. Even with a large portion of fruit grown in the south of Spain, most of it reaches supermarkets and
fruterías anywhere on the peninsula in a short period of time, making it fresh and relatively eco-friendly!
There are of course some fruits and veggies you can get year-round here, but I've discovered what is in season so much more than in Boston, where you certainly can't get local produce year-round. I've also discovered new things that I'd either heard of but never tried before, or simply never heard of or seen before in my life. (I've also discovered that some seemingly simple fruits have different names for different varieties, for example you can buy peaches by two names: both
melocotones - the yellow variety, or
fresquillas - the reddish variety. There's also another common variety of peach here that is flat, called
paraguaya, which I'd never seen before. Strawberries and cherries also come by two names:
fresas or
fresón;
cereza or
picota. These differences, as far as I can tell, refer to the size of the fruit instead of the color.)
My first and newest favorite: figs. The purple ones,
brevas come first and aren't quite as sweet as the smaller and rounder green
higos that arrive in August. I don't think I'd ever had fresh figs before and wow are they delicious.
Persimmons are another of my favorites. They are so perfectly autumnly orange. There are two major varieties, but the more popular one here is the sweet, crunchy one that you can basically eat like an apple. I'd definitely never seen a persimmon before living in Madrid.
Melons are of course common fruits in the US, but while we have canteloups and honeydews there, here the common melon is
piel de sapo, which I actually didn't know until just this minute when I Googled it, is called "Santa Claus" or "Christmas" melon. It's similar in color and flavor to a honeydew, but much bigger and oblong instead of spherical in shape. Eaten with some
jamón - this is the perfect summer supper.
One fruit that I'd certainly never heard of or seen in my life is the
nispero or loquat in English. It shows up in the spring for literally a few short weeks. The fruit is probably 75% seeds but it's so good that it's worth it.
Golden kiwis. By far the superior variety of kiwis. Maybe you can find these in the US; I've never looked. But I discovered them here and, while they're much more expensive than normal green kiwis, once you try one you'll never want to go back to green. They're so sweet, almost like candy. And the skin is hairless, so you can even eat it without being grossed out by the hairiness.
Another fruit I'd never heard of or seen before is the
chirimoya, which I think may have the same name in English though I guess it's also called a "custard apple" due to it's texture. It's green on the outside and white on the inside with massive black seeds that you cannot eat (they're actually poisonous if bitten into). People describe the flavor as a combination of other fruits like apple, pineapple, pear, banana, peach...it kind of reminds me of tutti frutti flavored candy. It's not really my favorite fruit, as the seeds are so big and there is so little flesh.
Lastly, I'd heard of blood oranges before and seen a ton of recipes that I've always wanted to make but before living here I'd never actually seen one. I've only seen them in supermarkets a few weeks out of the year, and they're so pretty on the inside.
It had been years since I'd gone to the Mallorquina, even though I pass it pretty often. But then one day a few months ago I had to get a document from the government early in the morning before school, which happened to be near the famous historical pastry shop. I thought, okay I haven't had breakfast, let's get a napolitana, or basically the Spanish version of a chocolate croissant (though not shaped like a croissant). I seriously had forgotten how amazing they are. You'll definitely need a glass of water or coffee to wash it down because it is super sweet, but a melt-in-your-mouth, like nothing you've ever had before sweet.
