Aegina Pistachios

Pistachio trees came to Aegina at the end of the nineteenth century and found the island's dry limestone soil and hot summers ideal; the local variety, Aegina fistiki, holds protected designation of origin status and is smaller, greener and more intensely flavoured than most imports. Harvest runs through September, when families spread sheets under the trees, beat the branches, and lay the nuts to dry on flat roofs and terraces across the island. The town holds a pistachio festival, Fistiki Fest, in the same month, with tastings, music and stalls along the waterfront. Year-round the harbour front is lined with sellers offering them plain, roasted, salted, or worked into pastries, butter and a local pistachio spoon sweet, and the price difference between here and an Athens supermarket is obvious.

What you actually see

• The harbour stalls - sacks of roasted and raw nuts along the waterfront.
• The September harvest - sheets under the trees and nuts drying on roofs.
• The Fistiki Fest - the island's pistachio festival in the town.
• The groves - low, gnarled trees across the island's dry interior.

When to go

September for the harvest and the festival; the shops sell year-round but the new crop is at its best in autumn. Boats from Piraeus fill on festival weekends.

Honest expectations

Prices at the tourist end of the harbour vary widely, and not every stall sells island-grown nuts, so look for the PDO name and ask. The festival is crowded, and the groves themselves are working farmland rather than a visitor attraction.

Nearby

Aegina Town's fish market and neoclassical streets are alongside; the pistachio groves spread inland toward Paleochora.