fruits availability in CH

Food & Drink, Events and Entertainment
1
There was a thread on the cost of fruits but it didn't quite answer my

question. I would like to know what kinds of fruits are available and which

ones are grown in CH and which ones are imported from other EU countries.

Note that I'm not asking how expensive it is. I know it is expensive. I'm

wondering what is available and whether the fruits are properly labeled

with its country of origin.

Half of what we eat are fruits so I'm used to paying a lot of top quality

fruits.

I'm from California, the fruit basket of the United States. Californian fruits

are shipped all over the US and the world. But there are still a lot of fruits

that are imported. We eat the following during the summer:

watermelon (local)

cantaloupe (most local, some from central america)

honeydew (most local, some from central america)

banana (imported from ecuador)

pineapple (hawaii or costa rica)

apple (washington state)

peach, plum, nectarine (local)

grapes (local in summer, chile in winter)

avocado (local in summer, mexico in winter)

mango (imported from mexico)

strawberry (local)

cherries (local or chile)

In the winter time, we eat more citrus fruits because they're in season.

And there are a lot of varieties of citrus fruits.

navel orange (local)

tangerine (local)

clementines (local)

grapefruit (from texas)

pears (local)

asian pears (korea)

persimmons (local)

We also buy a lot of frozen fruits to make smoothies year round. Frozen

blueberry, cherry, raspberry, cranberry, strawberry, blackberry, and

pineapple.

Are fruits labeled with their country of origin in CH? And of the big list

above, how many are not available or the quality of the imports are

no good?

Here is a picture of one of my favorites: California Cuties (Clementines).

They're small and very cute. My older son loves them.

thanks!

DavidSJC

2
Yes, all fruit lists where it comes from-- this is very common for all food that you purchase-- not only fruit. Lots and lots comes from Switzerland. Lots comes from Spain, Italy, France, Netherlands, etc. Everything on your list is available here - but not all year round. If you don't care much about the prices, the best place for local and seasonal fruit are the local markets- especially in Oerlikon. There are lots of melons, berries and other fruit that I don't know from back home. Aside from seasonal Grapefruits, and Asparagus, I rarely notice fruit or veggies from North America. But what I did notice here is that there really are seasons with fruit and veggies. And that if you eat what is in season, you tend to have great tasting fruit and veggies. Recently, I have been eating lots of great cherries, white peaches, apricots, red currants and blueberries but that hot summer fruit is ending- all from CH except the Peaches which were from France. When I first got here, I struggled with Oranges, couldn't find great tasting Oranges, but now I have found a window when they are good but it is not an all-year round thing. Like everything, you adjust.

3
Yes, the country of origin is marked. There are many fruits grown locally, in fact, there are places where you can go and pick your own fruits or vegetables.

4
The origin of every fruit and vegetable on sale must be declared here in Switzerland.

But the problem seems to be that what is written on the price-tag in the store is not necessarily where the item actually comes from.

A Migros senior executive recently blamed the staff in the shops for mis-labeling...

For some stuff, there are both local and foreign sources (apricots from the Wallis, or from France), some stuff is import only (pineapples are usually from Middle-America or Ghana).

A lot of stuff is from Spain - but I try to avoid it, as it rarely is top-quality (peaches I prefer from France or Italy).

Anything grown and harvested here is very expensive.

If you need e.g. a lot of strawberries (to make jam), I would go to Germany and pick yourself (basically anywhere around the Bodensee).

The limit per day to import is 20kg ;-)

http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_pri...x.html?lang=en

5
Pineapple, mangos and banana are all imported from outside of Europe. Banana & pineapple mostly from Africa and but some also come from South America where most mangos also come from.

It's a shame as the pineapples and bananas from Portugal are so much better. There probably isn't enough production to make it outside.

I think most avocados come from Israel. Persimmons come from Italy.

6
Canton Valais is the fruit basket in Switzerland. A lot of apples, pears, apricots, plums, cherries and strawberries come from there.

We grow a lot of grapes too, but most of that is for the wine industry.

Certain varieties of the above not grown in Switzerland, plus grapes and peaches tend to be sourced from neighbouring Italy and France - so they don't travel far.

I think others have answered your questions. In my experience, even locally sourced stuff can be variable quality outside of the proper season.

7
You can also see what's in season each month on our website (no cost and no affiliation with other companies)...

what's in season

Jack (another former Californian)

8

Could you tell me a few places..I've been really wanting to do that ever since moving here but have always turned up emtpy. I live in Bern.

9
I'd try a google search

your city + the german name of the fruit you want to pick + "selbst pflücken" or "selbst ernten".

10
If you want tropic fruits I'd try the local stores from the specific countries. Thai stores are great for coconuts, mangos, so much better than Migros or Coop. There are sometimes great melons and other fruits at Turkish or similar stores.

But that of course really depends on where you'll live in CH. Since you're such a fruit-enthusiast you'll surely spend a bit of time to research where you can buy what for the best quality.

11
The flat peaches (Flachpfirsich, sorry, can't spell in German) are very good.

I buy the mangoes when there's a special offer; they're usually pretty tasty.

Other than those, I enjoy the local seasonal fruits and those that are imported from the surrounding countries.

12
Oranges can be from most of the countries around the Med, like Morocco, Israel, Italy and Spain

Melons tend to be from Ghana or Egypt

Figues from Turkey and Lebanon

Dates from Tunisia and Iran, and yes Israel

Beans either from local suppliers or from Egypt

Asparagus from local suppliers or from France or China

Flowers from local suppliers or from the Netherlands or from Chile

Green salads from local suppliers

Cheese from local suppliers , but also from France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, GreatBritain, Netherlands and others

Berries of all kinds from local suppliers, but also from California