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

Buddha’s hands, a citrus variety originally from China that has no flesh or juice, just edible pith and peel. Photograph: Shrub

It was on a trip with a friend to the east coast of Spain that Matthew Slotover came across the “Garden of Eden”, an organic farm growing citrus varieties he had never heard of. The Todolí 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.

The farm yields far more interesting fruit than oranges and lemons for Slotover’s menu, including kumquat, finger lime, sudachi and bergamot.