The citrus of Vicente Todolí, a journey between botany and cuisine

We had barely finished greeting when Vicente Todolí handed us a laminated cardboard with drawings of about twenty citrus fruits. Surprised, I stopped looking at that illustrative sheet that was going to accompany us on the visit to the garden of his property in the municipality of Palmera (Valencia). I couldn't help but recall such figures as the pea slices that Gregor Mendel used to represent his genetic laws. I had heard about the fruit and vegetable madness of this art expert, overwhelming curriculum professional, but had never imagined the cultural and gastronomic scope of his whim.

How many varieties of citrus do you maintain?

'Citrus Maxima Chandler'. JC CAPEL

" About 400, the world's largest private collection planted in soil, not potted."

How it started?

“I bought a plot of orange trees when I was running the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art , in Porto . It harbored the purpose of collecting some at risk of gradual disappearance. Then they informed me that the area was threatened by an urban plan that affected the landscape and I approached the mayor of the town: If I buy the plot from my brother and his neighbors and create a foundation, will you stop the project? This is how the Fundació Todolí Citrus was born in 2012, eight years ago, in defense of the environment . A decision that coincided with a previous trip I had made with Ferrán Adrià in 2010 to Perpignan who discovered a private collection of 80 varieties grown in pots just as the Medici did in Florence during the Renaissance. In a few months I acquired the plots of 18 owners, very expensive smallholdings that can be quoted up to 144,000 euros per hectare, nonsense. There are even abandoned land that nobody sells.

Your friendship with Adrià?

Section of 'Natsu Dai-Da'. JC CAPEL

He was introduced to me by the painter Richard Hamilton , father of British pop-art , a regular at ElBulli as early as 1965 when it was a mini golf and picnic area. In 1989 I made a production with Hamilton at the IVAN in Valencia, an institution for which I was artistic manager. Richard invited me to his house in Cadaqués and accompanied me to El Bulli , a before and after in my gastronomic perceptions. During the time that I was director of the Tate Modern in London (2003-2010), I brought art people to ElBulli . Ferrán wanted these professionals to get to know his work. Later he asked me for a text for the book - Food for Thought - about his participation in Documenta (2007) in Kassel , reflections on the connection between his culinary universe and the artistic world ”.

Late in the morning, the smell of orange blossom filled every corner of the garden. Rather than a didactic tour, that walk we took in early March turned into a fantastic journey through distant cultures. In front of each one of the tables with citrus fruits that dotted the route, our host offered us loose segments and squeezed juices live. Or he proposed to scratch the skins with a fingernail to enjoy its aromas. He spoke quickly and vocalized poorly, as if his words couldn't reach his thoughts. A great humanist as a gardener, I thought at the time.

Bitter tangerines ('citrus myrtifolia') candied. JC CAPEL

Do you have a family fruit and vegetable history?

“My father was a citrus pruner, and my grandfather invented a system to produce more quantities, the opposite of what I intend. My goal is not to produce, but to know the nature of each one . Look at the maximum Citrus , progenitor of all citrus fruits, mother of grapefruit and oranges, ancient, also called pummelo . Do not forget that citrus appeared in the wild eight million years ago at the foot of the Himalayas . The maximum Citrus was known in Europe in the XVIII, instead the Arabs had brought it to the Iberian peninsula in the X. In Vietnamese and Thai cuisines they take it in salads and in pork dishes. Hirado mountain is also fantastic, it comes from Hirado Island, Nagasaki prefecture where Martin Scorsesse filmed the movie Silence about the persecution of the Jesuits in Japan in the 17th century. Without a doubt, the juiciest and most delicate, full of antioxidant properties ”.

Vicente Todolí. JC CAPEL

Are you excited by Japanese culture?

“It represents elegance, they don't invent anything, but they perfect everything. There are numerous citrus that came from China and that the Japanese improved. "

As we advanced, we tasted Japanese bitter oranges, pink grapefruits, sanguines, bergamot, citrus caviar and limes with a nuanced acidity or with high sugar points in an almost infinite multiplication of sensations. Even albedos with the flavor and texture of apples. With an unstoppable passion, Todolí spoke to us about medicinal citrus and sedative flowers or suitable for perfumes. At certain moments it reminded me of some of the paragraphs in Patrick Süskind's The Perfume . With his story we traveled from Australia to Jamaica , from Japan to Italy and Spain.

Try the Lumia di Napoli, the first hybrid between the Citrus Maxima and the Citrus medica, which was previously called Lumia di Valencia . It was transported by the doctor of Alfonso the Magnanimous when Naples belonged to the Crown of Aragon ; here it was lost and in Naples it survived intact ”. Or the Cedar that arrived with Alexander the Great's troops from Media , in Persia. It is the first citrus fruit to break into Europe, via Greece and Palestine in the 4th century BC. In Rome they considered it a resource against poisonings.

Hidden fauna?

"Indeed, we apply very little aggressive spraying so as not to attack songbirds, up to six species live hidden among the orange trees. Cassiano dal Pozzo , Italian scholar, naturalist and patron, published in 1640 the first citrus treatise. And also the first book about songbirds with their recipes to cook them. "

What language do you think in?

"It depends on where I am, here in Valencian, in Italy in Italian, in Portugal in Portuguese and in England in English. I learned Italian at the age of 18 and Spanish in school, in total five ways of expressing myself."

What do you know more about, art or citrus?

"Art has been my universe since I was 15. I have had nothing in citrus. However, I am almost certain that I know more about citrus than many agricultural engineers who dominate commercial varieties, but ignore its history. It is as if my artistic knowledge they will limit themselves to contemporary art that circulates through the galleries and turns its back on art history. In our Foundation we look at citrus with a botanical, historical, anthropological, ethnological and gastronomic vision ".

Do you work with cooks?

"At the moment with very few, only with those who show sensitivity to appreciate these fruits and add nuances to their recipes, Ricard Camarena , Albert Rauric, Paco Morales and Manuel Alonso, nearby. Of course, the foundation produces jams low in sugars and without additives".

Beyond the seasonal cycles, Todolí identifies with nature and with all that beauty that her garden offers her. He appreciates the aesthetics without ornaments, the sense of elegance and perfection of the Japanese culture that he finds reflected in fruits that multiply their essence with countless hybridizations. Travel, history and culture come together in his garden. He is aware that the only constant is change, the uncertainty of an ephemeral nature.

Citrus jams made by the Todolí Foundation: Kumkuat ( Fortunella ), Nasnaran ( Citrus amblycarpa ), Lima Red Philipine ( Citrus Limonia ); Shikwasa ( Citrus depressa ); Canarone citron ( Citrus medica canarone ); Limequat ( Limakumquat ); Kucle ( Clementina kumkuat ); Yuzu ( Citrus Junos ); Pummelo ( Citrus Maxima ); Lipo ( LimonPomelo ); Etrog citron ( Citrus Medica ); Lemon Meyer ( Citrus Meyer II )

Note.- When we leave the confinement behind, I recommend looking for time to get to this garden that organizes guided tours.

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'Lumia di Napoli'. JC CAPEL

Citrus jams.

Bluefin tuna galete with citrus slices.

'Maximum medical citrus'. JC CAPEL