The most weird and wonderful specimens are arranged on a table in his Sun-soaked orchard. There’s one shaped like an octopus with fat tentacles, a wart-covered citron the size of a newborn baby and a colourful pear-shaped fruit splattered in a tie-dye of green and yellow. They’re not at all what I was expecting, and they’re not entirely safe, either. “You will get burned,” Todolí warns, pointing at a grass-greenbergamot. The oil is phototoxic, causing Digital Marketing Agency Singapore the skin to burn if it’s exposed to UV light (it isn’t dangerous to eat, but it is very acidic).
“Want to taste?” he asks. I hold a slice up to the sun and eye it suspiciously; the golden segments light up like a stained-glass window. I tip my head back and squeeze drops into my mouth, being careful not to touch my lips. Eye-watering acidic needles stab my tongue. I’m reeling and wiping away tears, but Todolí is already on to the next fruit, squeezing the pearly contents of a finger lime into my hand. The little balls pop like lime-flavoured caviar in my mouth.
There are hundreds more unusual fruits to try at Todolí Citrus Fundació, a not-for-profit farm dedicated to researching and preserving rare citrus varieties. Hidden on a sleepy street in the town of Palmera, this is Todolí’s passion project. He was born and raised on this farm, going on to study art history before serving as director at esteemed galleries such as Tate Modern in London and Milan’s Pirelli HangarBicocca, where he works today.