While we were driving around in our hire car, we noticed orchards full of trees that we had never seen before here in Greece. Andreas said that they looked like Chestnut trees – and it turned out that he was absolutely correct.

We also saw fields of “ white stuff “ that got us completely baffled until we saw the huge lorries harvesting it. Cotton.

In addition we came across groves of plum trees and to our astonishment, kiwi fruit.

We had no idea that any of this produce was grown here and I simply had to find out more:

1. Chestnuts. Greece is among the top 10 producing countries of chestnuts in the world with exports reaching 80% of production as Greek chestnuts are considered to be of top-tier quality.

2. Cotton. Currently, cotton is produced in three EU countries with Greece being the main cotton grower followed by Spain and then Bulgaria. Greece contributes more than 80% of total cotton production in the EU. Approximately 10% of the total production in the country is consumed by the domestic spinners and the remaining is exported. Harvesting takes place during October and November.

3. Plums. Alexander the Great is said to have introduced plums into Greece from Syria or Persia. The production of plums and sloes in Greece in 2019 was 20,540 tonnes!

4. Kiwi. Greece has the perfect weather conditions for growing kiwis – the hot summers and cool winters help produce fruit of excellent quality and flavour. Greece is among the top kiwi producers, reaching 3rd place in world ranking ( after New Zealand and Italy).

Muse for this post: Greece never ceases to surprise us. It's not just about olives and olive oil.