Corsica Fruit

Like in some other French regions, the most significant fruit produced in Corsica is the chestnut. They have long been used in many traditional Corsican dishes and in the everyday food during hard times.

Chestnuts are especially grown in the Castagniccia area of Corsica. The tree is called Castagna in the local language and has given its name to the place of production of this traditional Corsican fruit.

Local fairs are once again one of the best ways to discover, taste and buy fruit on the island. Chestnut fairs take place in November and December.

Other fruit produced in the island are apples, clementines, peaches, melon and tomatoes. Careful, prices can be very high for these local produce; sometimes they represent three times the price of imported fruit like bananas. Corsican clementines are very delicate and sweet. Corsica is the only region in France where clementines are produced.

You can also find clementine juice on the island, and the Corsican clementines producers are trying to get an AOC label that would recognize the quality, authenticity and taste of the regional gastronomic produce. Citrus is also produced and is widely used in local cakes’ recipes (just like chestnuts).

Corsica is still very wild and the pollution rates are very low. Thus many mushrooms grow in this French region as well. Many local inhabitants can give useful advice about which champignons you should eat or not, specialized bookshops also exist.