The fruits of the arbousier can be eaten fresh, but don’t have much flavour, unless you want to make “medronheira” (strawberry tree firewater), a Portuguese brandy…but the kaki chutney is delicious.

In the P-O we are usually blessed with a fabulous autumn – for many people here it’s their favourite season. Mountain and vineyard vistas have turned yellow, orange, red. If we’re lucky, rains have refreshed the parched land and refilled our rivers, sometimes to over flowing!