Citrus Aroma_Club de Gourmets

In the municipality of Palmera, in Valencia, we find the citrus collection of Vicente Todolí (1958).
Vicente Todolí’s citrus fruit collection (1958). With more than four hundred varieties, his project is a world reference, as it is considered to be the largest citrus collection in the world planted in the ground, not in pots. His initial idea was that his 3,000 m: of land would house a small private collection of citrus fruits, with 25 varieties that could grow to 50 at the most. ‘We made an exponential leap, it went from being a small, private project to being for the public, much more ambitious, with a very important part dedicated to research and dissemination’, says Todolí, who adds, ‘it wasn’t planned, it was an emergency action to stop an urban development project that was being considered for the area’. Since its founding in 2012, Todolí has not only managed to stop this urban development project that threatened the landscapes of his childhood, but has also managed to significantly increase the territory that he insists on protecting, an environment of great environmental wealth and a productive landscape model that is very representative of his land. Thus, after buying land from 28 neighbours, the Todolí Citrus Foundation currently covers around 60,000 m:. In addition, he himself has plunged into the world of citrus fruits. ‘Although I am the fifth generation of a family of citrus specialists, I started researching because I had little idea, but now I can say that I am one too,’ he says with a laugh.

Todolí is used to success. He has been a leading professional in the art world for decades. His impressive career includes the direction of the IVAM (Valencian Institute of Modern Art), the Museu Serralves in Porto, and the Tate Modern in London. He currently advises several museums and foundations, including the Pirelli Foundation and the Botín Foundation.

The garden, an Eden

Todolí’s childhood memories are of orchards where citrus fruits ripened. There, in the shade of those trees, he played and also let his imagination run wild, immersed in reading. And it was there that his father taught his offspring the rough and tumble of working in the fields’. On Saturdays he made us get up at six in the morning, he took us to the fields with his workers so that we could see how hard the land was, and he told us, if you don’t study, this is what awaits you. As we had no technical knowledge, we had to do the hardest jobs, the hoe work, and boy did we study’, Todolí recalls. Now, having become a citrus grower for pleasure, he enjoys the Foundation immensely, located just an hour’s drive from Valencia and a little more than three kilometres from the Mediterranean coast. It has a citrus fruit classroom and a specialised library, both of which are accessible on guided tours. And its collection is home to citrus fruits that whisper many languages. Tarocco Messina, MarshPink, Okitsu, Mak NaoSan, Jambhiri, Lumia de Valencia are just a few of the varieties, and their origins are very different: Italy, the United States, Japan, Laos, India, Spain…

Nature is committed to diversity, but the market tends to homogenise. ‘In our country we have volume, supermarket citrus, but we don’t have varieties. Japan is the country that pays most attention to historical varieties, the second is Italy, where they grow a lot for ornamental purposes’, Todolí affirms. Spain is one of the main citrus growing countries with more than 309,000 hectares dedicated to growing citrus, more than half of which are in the Valencia region. Likewise, according to FAO data, it is the world’s leading exporter of citrus. Amongst so many varieties, it is not easy to choose favourites. ‘For beauty, I would choose citrons. They are the first citrus fruits known in Europe, they arrived with the botanists who accompanied Alexander the Great and they were the favourites of the Medici. They have very strange, grotesque shapes. And for flavour I would choose Japanese citrus fruits, which follow the line of their cuisine, very balanced and with very nuanced flavours’ argues Todolí.

Optimism for the future

His project combines his interest in history, botany, ethnography, gastronomy and anthropology, as well as a declared defence of the environment. The Foundation’s agenda includes a poetry festival in spring and a film festival in September. The installation of an aviary will soon begin, which will house different species of songbirds, such as the goldfinch, the greenfinch and the common chaffinch, species that were traditionally linked to the Valencian citrus groves and which have been driven out by the chemical treatments of intensive agriculture. The Foundation’s headquarters also houses a laboratory dedicated to gastronomic research where synergies are forged with renowned chefs. ‘With the artists I select the work, and the chefs are the ones who select the citrus fruits, it’s the reverse process,’ he says. The Foundation offers guided tours on weekends from November to April (general admission 15€) which include a walk and tasting at the foot of the field, as well as access to the rest of the facilities. Currently, the funding of this non-profit foundation depends on Todolí. ‘We would like the Foundation to continue to function when I am no longer there. That is why, two years ago, we bought an abandoned 10,000-metre orchard and we have been working with chefs to see which citrus fruits could be of most interest to haute cuisine and contribute to generating income for the Foundation’, he explains. It is also possible to enjoy the aromas and flavours of their orchard without visiting it, as in their online shop you can buy boxes of fresh fruit (5 or 10 kg) which include a varied section of seasonal citrus fruits, most of them varieties that are impossible to find in Spain.