Jenny Pascual travels Europe for the summer and Almeria in Spain is her first stop. She traverses the landscape and love affair of the local Spanish market town, discovering varieties of the humble tomato along the way.

While Louie Armstrong’s “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” plays in my head as I write this article, I find myself in the far south eastern corner of the Iberian Peninsula, Almeria. This sun-baked province, with the highest hours of sunshine and lowest rainfall in Europe, is one of the most productive agricultural zones in Europe, with more than 10,000 hectares of land cultivated commercially for fruit, vegetables, and flowers. The landscape is swathed in field after field of plastic greenhouses.


Mercado Central De Almeria

Visiting greenhouses and combing through aisles of the different mercados I visited in the last two weeks, you are greeted with piles of local and seasonal ingredients calling the attention of shoppers. One of the produce that stood out where varieties of tomatoes displaying sizes, colours, and shapes.

Spain has a long love affair with tomatoes. It has been a constant diet staple and lifestyle of the Iberian Peninsula. In Spanish cuisine, tomatoes are generally used fresh in salads or for cooking. You can also find bottled and canned products such as tomate frito (sauce made from tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil) or in the shape of tomato jam, where my favourite is mermelada de tomate raf. Regardless of how you say it, there’s one variety of tomatoes that has captured my taste buds – the Tomato Raf (Ribbed Tomatoes).


Crates of Tomato Raf sold at the Mercado Central de Almeria

Its small size in general, with deep grooves, irregular in shape, and a deep green colour looks to the uninitiated as if the tomato is completely unripe. However, it is characterised by its crunchy texture and an excellent flavour and sweetness impossible to find in other varieties. The fruit is less acidic than some of the more well-known varieties, and therefore sweeter. Consumers are also willing to pay up to 15 Euros/kilo for this prized variety. 

In Almeria, growing tomatoes has been an art and specialty combining very special conditions of light, naturally salty water, soil, and years of wisdom of farmers. Its growing season is also unusual thanks to the mild temperatures of Almería, its birthplace, the Raf is generally sold from December to April and may be considered one of the few genuine winter tomatoes. The Raf is a descendant of the French Marmande, not a hybrid but the result of selection by growers over the last half century. The variety has been grown for many years in the Almería, and particularly in the areas of La Cañada, Níjar and El Ejido.


Tomato Raf served at the oldest tapas bar in Almeria (Andalucia), Casa Puga

Pick a few pieces when you visit a mercado and bite into it like a fruit. I’ve discovered that tomato Raf is best eaten with just sea salt and good olive oil. But if you find yourself in Spain this Spring, join us in Almeria for a Moveable Feast food experience featuring some of these delicious tomatoes and other local produce. The simplest of ingredients is indeed the most delicious.


Photos courtesy of Jenny Pascual | Cover photo from Almerinor.com