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.
10Mulberries – Black and White
Mulberry trees were once much more familiar in Corfu gardens than they are today.
Both white and black mulberries grow on the island. The ripe fruit is soft, intensely sweet and so delicate that it can stain your hands almost immediately.
They are rarely seen in supermarkets because they do not travel or store particularly well. The best way to taste mulberries is still the old-fashioned way: straight from a tree when they are completely ripe.
The darker varieties usually have the strongest flavour, somewhere between blackberry and an exceptionally sweet raspberry.
Health benefits: Mulberries contain vitamin C, fibre and plant antioxidants. Dark mulberries are particularly rich in anthocyanins, the pigments responsible for their deep purple-black colour.
When to look for them: Late spring to early summer.
