Roussillon apricots and fruit

Between the Mediterranean, the Corbières, the Albères and the Canigó massif, the Roussillon forms a vast amphitheatre crossed by the Têt, the Tech and the Agly. On the terraces and alluvial soils of these valleys, the apricot tree has been established for more than ten centuries; it is said to have been introduced by the Arabs. Its commercial cultivation took off in the early 19th century, and the railway then opened distant markets to the département’s fruit. In 1937, the Roussillon alone supplied 60% of the apricots harvested in France.

The « Abricots rouges du Roussillon » appellation, recognised in France in March 2015, was registered as a protected designation of origin by the European Union in February 2016. It admits only four varieties: the Rouge du Roussillon and three more recent selections, Aviéra, Avikandi and Royal Roussillon. The fruit is recognised by its bright red speckles on an orange background; small to medium in size, sweet, low in acidity and melting, it recalls the peach. Picking is done by hand, and the fruit must reach the packing station within twelve hours.

Peach and nectarine trees also occupy a large share of the orchards of the plain and the Têt valley. Around Ille-sur-Têt, apricot, peach and cherry trees follow one another on small plots sheltered by windbreak hedges and often irrigated by canals, many of which date back to the Middle Ages. The orchard remains exposed to late frosts on early blossoms, to drought and to sharka, a virus that has forced the uprooting of many peach trees in the département.

To the south, in the Vallespir, Céret has been growing cherries for more than a century and a half. The first ones ripen there as early as mid-April, among the earliest in France, and custom has it that the first fruits are offered to the President of the Republic. At the end of May, the cherry festival brings together in the town’s streets a producers’ market, sardanas, bandas and a cherry-stone spitting contest.