Corfu is famous for olive oil, kumquat and traditional dishes, but the island also has a fascinating world of old-fashioned fruits that many visitors never notice. Some still grow in village gardens, beside country roads or in small family orchards, while others have almost disappeared from local markets. As someone who grew up in Corfu, several of these fruits immediately remind me of older gardens, grandparents and the days when people simply picked whatever was ripe from the tree. Here are 12 Corfu fruits you may never have tried.
3Corfu Bananas
This one surprises almost everyone: yes, banana plants can actually produce fruit in Corfu.
You can occasionally see banana plants growing in sheltered gardens around the island, especially in warmer locations protected from cold winter winds.
Corfu is obviously not a commercial banana-producing region like tropical countries or the Canary Islands, so these are mainly garden curiosities rather than an important local crop.
But finding a bunch of small green bananas hanging from a plant in a Corfiot garden is still a wonderfully unexpected sight.
Health benefits: Bananas are well known for providing potassium and vitamin B6, together with carbohydrates and fibre. They can be a useful source of easily available energy, particularly as part of an active lifestyle.
