Tasmania’s rich fields, pure water and temperate climate provide the ideal conditions for growing perfect produce, and as you travel around this compact island, you’ll taste the difference for yourself.

If you are thinking of sampling and taking home delicious fresh produce on your visit, Tasmania has something to suit everybody’s taste and budget.

From farmed Atlantic salmon, cheeses and luscious stone fruits, beers made from pure Tasmanian water to specialist products like saffron, caviar, wasabi, black truffles and eel, Tasmania is bursting with tasty treats and fresh produce.

Imagine stopping by the side of the road to buy bucketfuls of luscious red cherries, apples and other fruits, or picking up a dozen freshly shucked oysters pulled straight from the bay.

Or, in Hobart, a real treat is to purchase crayfish straight off the boats at Constitution Dock, where the Sydney to Hobart yacht race finishes each year. Fresh crays are available in season (from around mid-November to mid-January) from the dock and other selected retail outlets and eateries around Tasmania.

Alternatively, stock up on Hobart’s famous Barilla Bay Oysters for an impromptu picnic on the banks of the Derwent River. One of the largest producers of Pacific oysters in Tasmania, Barilla Bay Oysters are harvested daily for delivery to restaurants and fishmongers throughout Australia.

The Forrest family has been cultivating oysters in pristine Barilla Bay since 1980 and the location, near Hobart Airport, makes a convenient stop on the way to the CBD or to buy freshly shucked or unopened oysters to take home in handy travel packs.

On the east coast you can also buy crayfish plucked fresh from the ocean from the wharf at St Helens, or at the fish factory cellar door at the picturesque Gulch in Bicheno, where local fishing vessels return to unload hauls of abalone, crayfish, scallops and trevally.

Sample fantastic organic sheep’s cheese at Grandvewe Cheeses, which overlooks the spectacular D’Entrecasteaux Channel in the Huon Valley. The appropriately named Camembaaa! Blue By Ewe and Ewephoria are just a few of the treats on offer. Convenient coolers can also be bought so you can take your purchases home with you.

Upstairs from the famous Stillwater Restaurant at Launceston, on the banks of the Tamar River, you’ll find the Mill Providore and Gallery. Here the shelves literally groan under the weight of olive oils, locally grown saffron and Tasmanian wines. Try the amazing hot smoked baby Tasmanian salmon, produced by 41 Degrees South Aquaculture near Deloraine.

Across Tasmania you will find wonderful fresh fruit and vegetables at roadside stalls, markets and shops. Picking your own is another fun way to sample the freshest produce available. In the warmer months you can do just that at the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm outside Deloraine, which also sells fantastic raspberry jam, the Hillwood Strawberry Farm in the Tamar Valley, the Sorell Fruit Farm and Kate’s Berry Farm near Swansea.

Also be sure to sample fresh, beautifully displayed vegies from the stalls of Tassie’s Hmong community at the Salamanca Market in Hobart each Saturday, as well as locally grown asparagus and exotic varieties of mushrooms. Afterwards, wander up the hill to the historic Battery Point and try some fantastic sourdough, cakes and chunky meat pies at the Jackman & McRoss Bakery – a local institution.

Few could resist tucking into a Belgian-style breakfast and stocking up on Tasmania’s finest chocolates at the House of Anvers Chocolate Factory on the way to Launceston after disembarking from Spirit of Tasmania. Here you can learn about the evolution of chocolate, watch it being made in the factory and, of course, sample the delicious handmade chocolate truffles, fudge and praline.

Island Produce in South Hobart is another great place to sample handmade chocolate. The tour takes you through the historic Hobart Female Factory (site of a female penitentiary in the 1820s) and the beautiful gardens Island Produce has established, as well as opening your eyes to the chocolate-making process.

Thanks to its rich dairy pastures, Tasmania is also home to nationally acclaimed cheesemakers. Among these are Lactos, Ashgrove, Heidi, King Island Dairies, Elgaar Farm and Pyengana, as well as boutiques like Tasmanian Highland Cheeses, makers of soft goat cheese in Latrobe. King Island Dairy in particular is regarded as one of Australia’s best cheese producers and finished ahead of more than 300 entrants at the Fancy Food Fair in New York in 2000.

King Island is also famous for the richest, thickest cream you’re likely to taste and is well regarded for its superb beef. Unlike meat from other parts of Australia, all beef raised and produced for consumption in Tasmania is free from antibiotic and hormone growth promotants. Both King Island beef and Flinders Island beef have carved a niche premium market, and Tasmania’s industry uses a blue label to identify its beef as being wholly Tasmanian.

Around Tasmania you can also sample scrumptious homemade natural ice cream – Valhalla and Tasmanian Fine Ice Cream being just two of the names to look for.

The state is also known for its superb honey. At the Honey Farm in Tasmania’s north-west you can see honeybees up close as well as tasting some of the 50 honeys produced there. These include Tasmania’s Leatherwood honey and Tasmanian Manuka – a unique honey with healing properties for burns and wounds. Make sure you try the delicious honey ice cream made from rich Tasmanian cream and local honey.

In the Huon Valley you can find the wonderful Huon Mushrooms. More than seven tonnes of mushrooms are grown and sold at Huon Valley Mushrooms each week, including Tasmanian white, honey brown, shitake and oyster varieties. At roadside stalls in both the Huon Valley and along the east coast you can also buy cherries, apricots or crunchy apples, in season. 

An excellent way to sample the best of Tasmanian produce under the one roof is at the colourful, bustling Taste of Tasmania, held each year as part of the Hobart Summer Festival. With 70 stalls offering premium Tasmanian sensations, ‘The Taste’ caters to everyone’s cravings – from succulent seafood to blissful berries.

As you wind around the state, you won’t be able to resist filling up on the jams, sauces, cheeses, yoghurt, beer and wine that seems to be around every corner.

And one of the advantages of taking your car with you on Spirit of Tasmania is that you can load your boot to the brim with wonderful fresh produce and gourmet products to enjoy when you get home.