Garden of Eden': the Spanish farm growing citrus you've never heard of

"It was on a trip with a friend to the east coast of Spain that the chef Matthew Slotover came across the Garden of Eden, an organic farm growing citrus varieties he had never heard of. The Todoli Citrus Foundation is a nonprofit venture and the largest private collection of citrus in the world with more than 500 varieties, and its owners think the rare fruit could hold the genetic secrets to growing citrus groves that can deal with climate change."

"He tries to source most of the food on his European-inspired menu from the UK. But citrus is too good to miss, he said, during a visit to the Oxford Real Farming conference earlier this month. He teamed up with other chefs to bring over some rare varieties from the farm, and they became so popular he passed distribution over to the organic food supplier Shrub, which sells them to chefs across London."

On a trip to Spain chef Matthew Slotover discovered the Todoli Citrus Foundation, an organic farm with more than 500 citrus varieties. The nonprofit holds the largest private citrus collection and preserves rare genetics that could help develop climate-resilient groves. The farm produces kumquat, finger lime, sudachi, bergamot and other unusual fruits grown completely naturally, supporting frogs, goldfinches and bees. Slotover brought rare varieties to London chefs, then passed distribution to organic supplier Shrub. Finger limes feature on menus with zesty pearls and sweet-and-sour flavor.

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