What fruit is in season in Morocco, and what should I try?

Moroccan fruit is one of the great unsung pleasures of travelling here, because so much of it is grown locally, picked ripe, and sold the same week. The flavour intensity is something most visitors from supermarket cultures aren’t prepared for. The seasons matter, so let me walk you through the calendar I use when I’m planning what clients will eat.

Winter, roughly November to March, is citrus season and it is glorious. Morocco’s oranges and clementines are world-famous for a reason — sweet, juicy, and so cheap you’ll eat them by the kilo. This is when the fresh-orange-juice carts on Jemaa el-Fnaa are at their absolute best. Spring brings the first strawberries and loquats. It’s also peak season for dates if you’re anywhere near the southern oases — the Tafilalet around Erfoud produces some of the finest Mejhoul dates on earth.

Summer is when the stalls explode with colour: figs (both green and dark purple, eaten warm off the tree if you’re lucky), grapes, peaches, apricots, watermelon and sweet honeydew melons that vendors will slice open to prove their ripeness. And then there’s the prickly pear — "karmous nsara" — sold peeled by cart vendors who handle the spines for you. On a blazing day, three of those cold, refreshing cactus fruits for a couple of dirhams is the best street snack in Morocco.

Autumn brings pomegranates, quinces, and fresh dates straight from the harvest. My standing advice to every client: buy fruit from the souk and street carts, not the hotel; wash it with bottled water or peel it yourself; and let the vendor guide you to what’s ripe today. Pointing at the prickly-pear cart and trying something you’ve never eaten is exactly the kind of small adventure that makes a trip memorable.