Spain’s Organic Citrus Farm Grows Rare Fruits to Combat Climate Change
January 16, 2026
Chef Matthew Slotover discovered a unique organic citrus farm on Spain’s east coast called the Todolí Citrus Foundation. It holds over 500 rare citrus types, some unknown until now. Slotover calls it the “Garden of Eden”. He learned about fruits like kumquat, finger lime, sudachi, and bergamot here, far beyond common oranges and lemons. The farm is fully natural and provides a home for frogs, goldfinches, and bees.
Slotover, founder of London’s Toklas restaurant, uses these fruits in his dishes. Famous chef Nigella Lawson praised a meal there with Rangpur lime and Spanish sweet limetta, plus a guava roll with Shikuwasa mandarin. After bringing these rare citrus fruits to London chefs, Slotover passed distribution to the organic supplier Shrub.
The farm’s technical director, Óscar Olivares-Fuster, says Todolí differs from commercial growers by avoiding pesticides and using traditional irrigation systems. These methods store water better and create a safe space for birds lost to chemical farming.
Olivares-Fuster highlights the farm’s important role as a gene bank. Studying these varieties could help citrus plants survive climate change, especially as growing conditions shift northward. One special fruit is the trifoliate orange, which drops its leaves in winter and can resist cold. This trait could aid breeding colder-tolerant citrus.
The farm grows rare Japanese types and unique fruits like the Valentine pomelo, calamansi from the Philippines, and the fragrant Borneo lumia. These fruits now inspire chefs and may secure citrus farming against a warming world.
Read More at Theguardian →
Tags:
Citrus
Organic farming
Rare Fruits
Climate change
Spain
Chefs
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