Portugal is a country with a rich culinary tradition, where fruits and vegetables are central to the diet. Thanks to its mild climate and a variety of microclimatic zones, neighboring Spain's rich and diverse markets, Portugal can offer a wide range of fresh and tasty products all year round. In this article, we will explain the seasonality of local fruits and vegetables, introduce you to unusual varieties worth trying, and provide indicative prices to help you better navigate the local markets.
Firstly, let's deal with the places where fruits and vegetables are sold
- Local markets (Mercado local)
In larger cities, such as Lisbon, markets can operate every working day. In smaller cities, the market can only operate on one fair day.
Vegetables and fruits can be cheaper at markets, although this statement is more applicable to smaller towns. In Lisbon, according to our observations, they are even more expensive at markets. However, the products often look and taste better than store-bought ones. But there are exceptions. For example, we have been buying papayas at Continente stores lately because they are ripe and delicious there at the same price, while unripe ones from the market, especially in summer, tend to rot faster than they ripen.
It is customary to pay with cash here, but there is always the option to do an MBWay bank transfer, and somewhere you can even pay by card.
- Chain stores (Cadeia de lojas)
There are several main chain stores. You may already be familiar with them from our article "Fish in Portugal: prices, quality signs, places to buy", but let's recap them again, and at the same time give you links to the vegetable or fruit section of the store so you can explore the range and prices for yourself.
Pingo Doce, Continente, Lidl, Aldi (only frozen fruits and vegetables on the site), Minipreço.
Unlike markets here you can shop every day, except for some very important holidays. Often the stores have nice loyalty programs.
In contrast to the market, there are many variations of greens and different types of salad leaves (spinach, arugula, watercress) already washed and ready to eat. There are shredded carrots, beets, cabbage, vacuum-packed cooked beets, sprouted seeds, frozen fruits and vegetables.
Some chain stores have a home delivery option.
- Wholesale stores (Loja atacadista)
These are wholesale suppliers like Macro, Recheio, Arcol. We wrote about them in the article "Twenty Lifehacks to Save Money and Time in Portugal". Prices in such stores can be more favorable, but to take advantage of them, you need to have a sole proprietorship (even if not related to catering) and get a client card.
- Frutaria
These are small specialty stores that sell vegetables and fruits.
This can be especially true in big cities or places where there is no market nearby. It is worth going around the nearest points and seeing where there are good quality fruits and vegetables, as it happens that they sell goods that are already deteriorating. The advantages of buying fruits and vegetables in such places are the price and the degree of ripeness. Most often, they sell goods that do not require ripening. For example, we liked to take big, juicy and soft persimmons that melt in your mouth. It must be carried very carefully in your hands or in a box. If you put one in a bag, you will bring home mashed potatoes.
- Local farmers by the roadside
During the season of certain fruits and vegetables, outside the cities you can see people selling their harvest by the roadside. They usually buy in trays or boxes.
- Online resources
Recently, online stores that do not have physical stores have appeared. They promise convenient delivery, good quality and no unnecessary plastic packaging: for example, merceariabio.pt and en.equalfood.co. You can try to find a similar firm in your city.
- Buying crops from farms (Quinta)
Announcements are usually made on the websites of the farms themselves or on the websites of the municipalities. If your favorite Quinta is growing something, you can simply ask if and when the harvest is open to visitors. On such days, the gates to this area of the Quinta are opened, you are given a basket, gloves, and may be given pruning shears. You walk around and pick whatever you like, then at the end you go to the cash register and pay. According to our observations, you can't say that the prices will be cheaper than market prices, but the produce is organic and fresh, and you can have an interesting time with the whole family.
Such places also often sell honey of their own production, organize family and children's entertainment and volunteer programs.
Now you know where you can buy fruits and vegetables. We recommend that you visit all locations. Compare prices and quality of goods in your area and understand what and where you will buy.
If we talk about our experience, then at the moment, living in a relatively small town, we once a week buy vegetables and fruit at the market (depending on the amount of fruit for this takes an average of 40 to 60 euros for two people), on the same or another day we buy fish, meat, cheese, salad leaves and other things in a chain store, sometimes during the week we buy something in convenience stores.
When we lived in a large city with a fairly expensive market, the shopping pattern was different. Purchases were made more often and in smaller batches in a chain store, once a week we bought fish and something separate from fruits and vegetables at the market, and super ripe and delicious seasonal fruits in a particular frutaria.
As you can see, your structure can depend on many factors: personal preference, availability of a car, availability of types of outlets nearby, budget, eating patterns, family size, your daily routes, and even the size of your refrigerator.
Conditions of fruits and vegetables that you can buy:
- Fresh (frescos)
Here it is important to pay attention to the shelf life with and without a refrigerator. In the case without a refrigerator, the shelf life will be different in winter and summer. Salad leaves spoil very quickly, and it is simply pointless to buy fresh leaves in large quantities.
- Frozen (congelada)
The frozen food here is good quality (like the fish we wrote about in this article), ice-free.
Freezing allows you to always keep a supply of vegetables, fruits, berries, mushrooms, herbs in the freezer. Often you can find things in the freezer that are not always sold at the market: peas, various ready-made vegetable mixes, berries, sliced potatoes for stir-fries, string beans, spinach. As in the case of fish, in our opinion it cannot be said that frozen food is cheaper than fresh food. It is just another product, washed and prepared to be used without additional actions on the part of the buyer.
- Canned (enlatadas)
The selection of canned fruits, vegetables, and beans in chain stores is large: mango, pear, lychee, pineapple, peas, corn, and beans of all colors.
- Salted, sour, dried and in their own juice (Salgado, em conserva, seco e no próprio suco)
In chain stores, you can find pickled cucumbers, sauerkraut, beans in their own juice, pickled ginger, and sun-dried tomatoes. Sometimes, cucumbers, cabbage, and other non-traditional products of Portugal are placed in sections with foods from different countries. For example, you can find Mexican tortillas, Japanese soy sauce, Chinese rice noodles, Ukrainian halva, German sauerkraut, Thai coconut oil, and Indian garam masala spice.
- Dried fruits, candied fruits (Frutas secas, frutas cristalizadas)
Usually sold in the nut or organic food sections of stores or at the market. There are pre-packaged and bulk packs.
- Juices (sumos).
It is worth noting separately that many chain stores have machines that squeeze juice from oranges. We saw that they are cleaned regularly, so you should not be afraid to use these machines. For a reasonable price, you get amazing juice from sweet oranges. A whole liter of such fresh juice will cost you about 4 euros at the Continente store.
Unusual fruits and vegetables
In Portuguese stores and markets you can find, it seems, all the names of vegetables, fruits, legumes and herbs that we are used to. The only thing we noticed was that there is no dill (but there is cilantro).
We notice that the Portuguese grocery market, like any other market, is adjusting to changes in demand, also due to the influx of immigrants. And it is possible that new products will appear on the shelves of Portuguese stores as well.
On the other hand, there are many unusual products. Here are just a few of them.
Unusual vegetables, fruits and legumes
- Cherimoya (Anona)
Locals call it annona (that's the name of the fruit in Latin).
An exotic fruit with a creamy texture and a sweet flavor reminiscent of a mixture of banana, pineapple and strawberry. Contains large and hard seeds. This is a favorite of ours. The fruit is in season from about October through April.
- Lupins (Tremoços)
These are legumes that are pickled and served as an appetizer.
Living in Portugal, you'll encounter the plants themselves in the summer and the finished products from them year-round.
- Feijoa
A flavorful fruit with a green rind and sweet-sour flesh. The season usually starts in late September or early October and lasts until the beginning of winter, around December or even early January.
- Kumquat (Kinkan)
Small citrus fruits that can be eaten whole, including the peel. Sold from late fall to early spring, which roughly corresponds to the period from November to February.
- Piri-piri pepper
A small hot pepper used to make the famous Portuguese piri-piri sauce. Usually found in markets from July to September.
- Cardoon (Cardo)
A vegetable resembling an artichoke, but with stiffer stems. Used in soups and casseroles. Available mainly in winter and early spring, from November to March.
- Calais (Couve Galega)
A special type of cabbage that is often used in the Portuguese soup "caldo verde". Fresh leaves are found in the market in the fall and winter, from September to February, but in the stores, washed, cut and ready to eat in bags are available all year round.
- Abelmosh edible/Bamia (Quiabo, also called Kiabos in the market).
Of African origin, it is part of many Brazilian and some Portuguese dishes, so it is also found in local markets. It has a shape and size resembling a cucumber and has a crunchy texture. It is usually consumed raw in salads, cooked or pickled. The season is roughly July through September. But this year, for example, we saw it already in spring.
- Yams (Inhame)
It is a root vegetable that is widely used in world cuisine. It has a pear shape and a smooth rind that can be a variety of colors depending on the variety. The flesh of the yam is often creamy or yellowish and has a sweet flavor. It is typically in season during the fall and winter, from October to February, but it seems to be available in markets most of the year.
- Chayot (Chuchu)
A green, pear-shaped vegetable with a smooth or slightly ridged rind. Inside, it has a pale green flesh with a mild, slightly crunchy flavor reminiscent of a mixture of cucumber and zucchini. Available from early April through late December, but best bought from early June through late October.
- Artichoke (Alcachofra)
It is a large green plant belonging to the aster family. It is eaten by its flower buds, which have large, dense scales (leaves) and a fleshy base. Inside the artichoke is the "core" or "bottom" which is the most valuable and flavorful part. Available from early March through the end of July, but best purchased from early April through the end of June.
Seasonality of fruits and vegetables
To make it easier for shoppers to navigate seasonal fruits and vegetables, DecoProTeste magazine has released a seasonality calendar.
The calendar does not cover a complete list of items, but it will get you started. Below we'll provide information from the calendar as well as approximate prices. It should be clarified that prices may vary depending on where you buy fruits and vegetables, whether they are in season or out of season, what part of the season they are in. Also, the timing of the season can shift in different directions from year to year.
Fruit seasonality:
- Apricot (Alperce): second half of May - first half of June;
- Plum (Ameixa): early June to mid-October;
- Figs (Figo): this is not a fruit, but let's include it here, early June to late September;
- Nectarine (Nectarina): early May to late September;
- Maracujá: second half of June to the end of September;
- Peach (Pêssego): from mid-May or June through mid-October;
- Pear (Pêra): generally available all year round, with a short period in June when it can go to waste;
- Pineapple (Ananás), banana (banana), lemon (limão), apple (maçã): can be bought all year round.
Seasonality of vegetables and herbs:
- The following products are available all year round, but there is a season when it is especially recommended to buy them, as they are the freshest and most flavorful. Potato (Batata) - early April to late December; eggplant (beringela) - early June to late October; beet (beterraba) - early October to late June; zucchini (courgette) - early May to late October; cucumber (pepino) from early May to late October; sweet bell pepper (pimento) from early June to late October; radish (rabanete) and arugula (rúcula) from early October to late June; tomato (tomate) from early June to late October;
- Sweet corn (Milho doce) - early May to late October, but it is better to buy from early June to late September;
- Green beans (Feijão verde) - early March to late October, but it is better to buy from early June to late September;
- Onions (Cebola) and carrots (cenoura) are available and delicious year round;
- Young green onions (Cebola nova) - available from early March through late July, but most delicious from early April through late June;
- Celery root and stalk (Aipo de cabeça e aipo de talo) - available generally year-round, but freshest and most flavorful from early October through late June;
- Garlic (Alho) - early June through late October;
- Broccoli (Brócolos) - early September to late June.
Prices of vegetables, fruits and mushrooms:
- Bananas (Banana) - 1.25 euros per 1 kg;
- Apples, Golden (Maçã Golden) - 1.99 euros for 1 kg;
- Oranges (Laranja) - 1.33 euros per 1 kg;
- Mandarins (Clementina, tangerina) - 2.49 euros per 1 kg;
- Raspberries (Framboesa) - 15.93 euros per 1 kg;
- Maracuja (Maracujá) - 7.99 euros per 1 kg;
- Pineapple (Abacaxi) - 1.39 euros per 1 kg;
- Mangoes (Manga) - 2.99 euros per 1 kg;
- Tomatoes, cherry (Tomate Cherry) - 5.56 euros per 1 kg;
- Carrots (Cenoura) - 0.99 euros per 1 kg;
- Tomatoes, large (Tomate) - 2.09 euros per 1 kg;
- Potatoes (Batata) - 1.26 euros per 1 kg;
- Onions (Cebola) - 2.13 euros per 1 kg, about the same price for red onions (Cebola Roxa);
- White cabbage (Couve Branca) - 1.49 euros per 1 kg;
- Green leaf lettuce (Alface) - €1.99 per piece (€9.95 for 1 kg);
- Bell pepper, red (Pimento Vermelho) - 2.59 euros per 1 kg;
- Champignons, whole (Cogumelo Branco Inteiro) - 4.99 euros per 1 kg;
- Zucchini (Curgete Verde) - 1.79 euros per 1 kg;
- Avocado (Abacate) - 3.38 euros per 1 kg;
- Beets (Beterraba) - 1.69 euros per 1 kg;
- Garlic (Alho) - 5.73 euros per 1 kg.
Prices are taken from the Continente store website at the time of writing in June 2024. You can compare the prices on the market and the prices in this chain of stores by some of the pictures that are posted in this article.
Addendum
There are a few points that we think are useful or important to cover under this topic.
- Shoppers can still take plastic bags to buy fruit and vegetables free of charge and in any quantity. You can take them at markets and stores. However, we encourage you to either save these bags and reuse them to buy fruit and vegetables, or get reusable cotton bags, which can be purchased inexpensively from chain stores or, for example, on amazon.es. A huge amount of plastic bags end up in the ocean simply because of the wind. Let's try together to minimize the damage.
- If you used to think that grocery carts were the domain of the elderly, here you can look at this device with new eyes. Everyone walks around with carts, including young people, to protect their backs. They are sold in many stores from El Corto Inglês to Chinese stores. We opted for a cart with large wheels from IKEA.
- If you've ever thought about separate waste collection, you know that the vegetables, fruits and other products you've lost can be turned into biowaste, which can then be used to make fertilizer for all the many beautiful flowerbeds and biofuel. For example, this is a program in the municipality of Oeiras. You can find a program in your city.
