Lots of people assume that all of the fruit in Spain is very cheap all of the time, Just like elsewhere, there are some fruits which are seasonal, and may not always be “cheap”. If you enjoy making smoothies, or smoothie bowls, it could be a good idea to buy certain fruits when they are on special offers. Or alternatively, do what I do, do a little bit of foraging in the Spanish countryside.
Pineapples
Pinapples are perhaps not the most expensive fruit that you can find in Spain, but it is one of the easiest fruits to freeze, and it comes up on special offer rather a lot. I love pineapple because of the many health benefits of pineapple, and I make sure that I snap it up when it is on offer.
The great thing about pineapple is that you can make use of all of the pineapple. If you have greenfingers, you can even grow the top of the pineapple. It may not produce a pineapple, but it will turn into an interesting gardening plant. The skin of the pineapple will also compost down very well. Don't forget to keep the core of the pineapple. Believe it or not, it is more nutritious than the rest of the pineapple.
To freeze the pineapple, it is best to chop it up in small bits. Freeze them by placing them on a tray in your freezer, and then transfer them into portion size bags.
Blackberries
The Spanish countryside is full of blackberries come end of July. Not a lot of Spanish people harvest or forage for this lovely berries, but I do and I have taught one of my Spanish friends that blackberries are delicious. This year seems to be a very good year for blackberries, so perhaps you should get out there.
The best time to pick blackberries is early in the morning. They have had a chance to cool down, and they seem to be a bit firmer. So far, I have picked blackberries for the past two weeks, and I have ended up with about 4 kilos of blackberries. I am not sure how much 4 kilos of blackberries would cost in the supermarket, but they are not cheap.
The most important thing about blackberries is to clean them. It is really easy to do. All you need to is to pace them in a large pot of water when you come in, leave for a while, and they are clean. Let them dry, and then spread them out on a tray for quick individual freezing. Fresh blackberries do not need any sugar as they really are sweet enough. Great to use for healthy drinks, adding to yogurt and do not forget the cheesecake!
Papaya
This can be a very expensive fruit in Spain, and you should look out for offers. Expect to pay about 3€ for half a papaya. I think that is expensive so I always make sure that I take advantage of offers. My local supermarket normally sells off their papaya after 5 pm on a Saturday night, so I sneak into pick up a few. Instead of paying 3€ per fruit, I normally end up paying 1.50€. Two fruits will last me a week.
Once again you can save the papaya seeds. They will only start to grown in the summer, and you have to make sure they are nice and warm. I have trick when it comes to growing papaya, and it has not failed me as yet. They may fruit, but if they don't you will certainly have a very exotic house or garden plant.
Don't chop up the papaya in many small pieces, or the fruit will lose it flavour. Using an ice cream scope to spoon out the flesh works well, and it tastes great with blackberry. Freeze quickly on a tray, and take it out when ever you need it. It is worth buying papaya as the health benefits of papaya are well known, and can really help with inflammatory disease.
Bananas
I don't find that bananas are too expensive, but it is a good idea to take advantage of special offers. When you want to work with bananas, it is best to be super prepared and well organized. They will go brown very quickly. I slice them up, but don't freeze the slices individually. Instead I slice up about two bananas to a container, and freeze them that way instead.
Frozen bananas are great in smoothies, and the funny thing is that frozen bananas seem to make for thicker smoothies. Needless to say, they are good for us because they are rich in potassium – one of those micro minerals we often lack.
Cherries
We do have delicious cherries in Spain, but they are not in season for very long. In recent years we have learned a lot about the health benefits of cherries, and we should really try to make the most out of this humble little fruit.
Cherries are that little more labour intensive as you need to take the stone out first of all., but the rest is easy. Just freeze them individually, and place them in containers. Great for all sorts of things including cakes, smoothies and smoothie bowls. Also taste great in home made muffins and you can even add semi-frozen cherries to the middle layer of a Victoria sponge cake. It is almost like an ice cream, and once the juice starts to soak through, I promise you that nobody can keep their hands off that cake.