Top Seasonal Fruits to Try in Türkiye
It’s always best to follow the season when it comes to fruit. When consumed in the appropriate season, fruit tastes its best and has the most benefits. You’re the luckiest person on Earth if your country offers delicious fruit options every season! Türkiye has excellent climatic and ecological conditions, which result in a large bounty of tasty Turkish fruits! As a result, Türkiye provides its visitors with delicious fruit year-round. In this respect, Türkiye takes its place among the world's most fertile countries in terms of seasonal fruit. Let’s explore the country’s seasonal winter, autumn, spring, and summer fruit together – all the juicy and fresh superstars of each season deserve a try!
Winter Fruits
As the winter season captures us firmly in its cold grasp, our bodies demand fruits that are hearty and healthy! We all need to support our immune systems to avoid getting cold and sick in winter. The remedy, however, is not far and Türkiye’s seasonal winter fruits meet all our expectations splendidly!
When we enter the realm of winter fruits in Türkiye, the pomegranate (nar in Turkish), the queen of the winter fruits, comes to mind. Pomegranates are among the most vitamin-filled and delicious fruits Türkiye’s winter season has to offer. In some parts of the country and the region, they’re believed to bring luck and they’re grown in nearly every corner of the country.
Quince, strawberries, and citrus fruits are produced and sold everywhere during the entire winter. Quince is rather tart and aromatic and is extremely tasty! In fact, Türkiye exports quince to many countries across the world. One should also not forget the famous quince dessert ayva tatlısı with its gorgeous color and unmissable flavor!
A cousin of lemon and orange citrus fruits, bergamot is also a tasty and exotic choice. They’re generally grown to be used in jams or teas, so don’t bite into one directly!
In the month of February, the harvest of most varieties of oranges is finished and ready to be enjoyed! Take a bite from the famous oranges of the Mediterranean and you’ll definitely ask for more! A specific Turkish delicacy is the sweet Finike orange. In Antalya’s Finike district, festivals are held each year featuring many delicious species of orange.
The coastline of the district of Anamur in Mersin Province meets the largest amount of the country’s banana needs. These bananas have a very sweet aroma and a delicate flavor. Türkiye’s bananas are smaller compared to their counterparts elsewhere in the world; however, their unique taste more than makes up for it!
Spring Fruits
Ready to leave behind the winter funk and eat seasonally? Spring has arrived with its numerous beauties! Apart from blooming flowers and hours to be spent under the sun, the arrival of spring heralds the coming of delicious new fruit in Türkiye!
In March, lemons are picked and spread across the country. Lemon production is an ancient sector in Türkiye and lemons are among the country’s most exported fruits by virtue of their fantastic taste. What is more, lemons support your heart health and help you control your weight.
Some variations of sweet cherries also take their place in the markets in the spring. Loquats (yenidünya in Turkish) and green almonds are also very common in this season. Not only can you eat loquats unripe, but they’re also used in traditional Turkish cuisine such as Gaziantep’s loquat kebab (yenidünya kebabı).
Erik, meaning plum in Turkish, is another seasonal favorite. Green unripe plums are very popular – if you taste them, you might become obsessed with them! Most people born and raised in Türkiye are crazy about unripe eriks! Each year, their arrival is awaited by locals like the first drop of snow, and the first bite evokes the burst of life in spring! These bright, colorful, and flavor-packed fruits will brighten up your days and bring you joy!
Summer Fruits
Blazing temperatures, sweaty bodies, and a crazy thirst indicate the onset of the summer season in Türkiye. Day by day, it becomes more difficult to tolerate the heat and we need something to refresh ourselves. Seasonal summer fruit will keep you hydrated and feeling fresh and nourished during such sunny and hot days!
June is the most fertile month in terms of fruit production. Malatya apricots, Bursa nectarines, plums mainly from Türkiye’s eastern region and the very famous Aydın figs ripen during this special month, followed by the tasty Kırkağaç melons in Manisa Province.
Watermelon and melon are the two indispensable flavors of summer owing much to their great taste. They are highly rich in vitamins A and C, and low in terms of calories.
Apricots are among Türkiye’s most delicious fruits, while the dried version is just as delicious and nutritious. Called the “Land of the Apricots,” Malatya Province is famous to produce the tastiest apricots in the world. Apricots are also the perfect snack to tackle those hunger pangs!
As the summer draws to an end, in August, you have more reasons to be happy – it’s the time for the tastiest pears, apples, and grapes, which offer brand-new excitement.
Autumn Fruits
Autumn is a wonderful time for seasonal fruits! In Türkiye, the bounty of autumn fruits is mesmerizingly beautiful. While September marks the end of the watermelon season, peaches, apples, figs, grapes, Cornelian cherries, and many more types of autumn fruit are cultivated across this fertile country.
Figs sometimes called the “Fruit of Heaven,” are produced in large amounts using only traditional methods. They are harvested in warm climates, mostly in Aydın Province in the Aegean region. Aydın figs are truly delicious!
The indigenous grapes of Türkiye are also exceptionally tasty. The country has a long history of viticulture and is home to some of the world's oldest grape varieties! Indigenous varieties of grapes such as Çavuş-Bozcaada grapes in Çanakkale and İzmir Sultaniye grapes have an unforgettable aroma and taste. One should also not forget the famous black grapes of Antep in Türkiye’s southeastern region.
The carefully selected and collected apples of Türkiye are also among the list of seasonal autumn fruits! We can take full advantage of the tasteful autumn fruits by juicing, pureeing, baking, or simply eating them straight off the tree!