The New Garden of Eden in Spain

Spain is one of the countries with more international presence on food products.Generally speaking, Spanish fruits and vegetables are internationally prestigious thanks to the quality of its products.

The different climates in Spain allow for the production of various so-called exotic fruits. Age-old cultivation and irrigation traditions and new production techniques come together in Spain to create a basketful of exotic fruits of many different species, shapes, colors and flavors that find a warm welcome on both domestic and international markets.

Some of them reached Spain from the East and have been grown there since ancient times. Others are more recent, having come from the other side of the Atlantic after Christopher Columbus' voyages to America in the 15th century.

The one with the longest history in Spain is the pomegranate. Originally from Asia, it was already known in the Mediterranean area in ancient times. Its strikingly beautiful fruit was much loved by the Arabs to the extent that the Spanish town that was the capital of the last Muslim kingdom in Spain bears the Spanish name for pomegranate, Granada.

Another Asian fruit is the kaki or persimmon, of which there are numerous varieties.

The cherimoya (or custardapple), an American native, was brought to the coasts of Granada by returning Andalusian emigrants, but large-scale cultivation only began in the second half of the 20th century.