The vast array of “tutti frutti” from all over the world now available in Europe would have been inconceivable just one generation ago. Of course there have always been red, yellow and green apples, hard and soft pears, cherries by their basketful and the multitude of berries that grow in our fields, woods and gardens. Apples were carefully stored in the cellar until spring, berries were bottled in the summer in endless quantities.


Each fruit had its own season. At Christmas there were oranges and tangerines from Spain, figs from Syria and sticky dates from Morocco.

It was in the sixties that exotic fruit, large and small, from the former colonies began to flood our markets: bananas, citrus fruit and pineapples, then kiwis, papayas and, and, and… Demand accelerated apace with the boom in holiday travel – savouring a mango in the colder climate back home evokes memories of the last holiday under the palms. If you want you can now also get your strawberries in January – at the deli, flown in from Mexico.

This rapid development was made possible by advances in cultivation, transport and refrigeration technology. The fitness craze gave millions of people a taste for these low-calorie vitamin bombs. But domestic products are now becoming increasingly important again. Not least because, however robust and immaculate they look, many new strains seldom now fulfil what they promise. Which is why it is worth taking the trouble to look for the old apple varieties now being cultivated by astute growers, for small blackberries and vineyard peaches. It is advisable not to buy domestic fruit from the supermarket, where it has probably been kept for considerable time in the cold store, but off the weekly market or directly from the producer. And then, if possible, use or cook it straightaway! Sweet cherries quickly go off – and the fridge is a killer for the strawberry’s aroma.

You should never select purely according to size and appearance – a fruit can be beautiful but unripe, big but often watery. Its aroma depends on how ripe it is. And ripeness is not an absolute condition but a process that also carries on after the harvest. Tropical fruits are best eaten when they are almost past ripeness. By then bananas will have a few brownish spots on their skin, green limes yellowish patches; pineapples and mangoes give off alluring scents. Letting fruit continue to ripe at home is no problem. Pineapples, papayas and avocados do well at room temperature, kiwis prefer it somewhat cooler.