What are Winter Tomatoes?

To bring out this unique profile, growers have to strike the perfect balance: create difficult growing conditions which force the plants to work for essential nutrients without causing deficiencies. It’s this growing expertise that builds vitality and flavour.

MINIMALLY WATERED

Winter Tomatoes need to be under-watered, kept at a level that is survivable but arduous, forcing the plant to cling to any nutrients it can draw on. In summer, conditions are too hot and dry for a grower to ever be able to maintain this level of water-stress on their plants: they would simply die.

NATURALLY SALTY

Our Winter Tomatoes are grown in Almería, Sardinia, Puglia and Sicily: coastal regions where the salinity heightens stress on the plant, further decreasing water content in the fruit and concentrating the rich flavours in the flesh. In Sicily, some growers are so close to the sea that their Marinda tomatoes are naturally irrigated by the tides. Other growers, like José, Antonio and Andrès in Almería, manage irrigation with precision, harnessing the natural salinity of the water to keep their plants on the edge of survival.

STRESSED BY SAND

Light sandy soils are typical for coastal regions. Water and nutrients wash through these free draining soils relatively quickly, forcing the plants to work even harder to draw up what they need. Where most growers look for nutrient dense soils, it is arid and relatively barren land that creates the ideal conditions for Winter Tomatoes. In fact, just a few miles away from where Andrès grows RAF, a tomato that ‘really needs to suffer’, José claims his soil is ‘too good’ to grow this variety. He focuses solely on Iberiko, which demands marginally more fertile soils.

KNOW YOUR VARIETIES

Our founder Franco grew up eating Camone, which were considered a feat of Sardinian agriculture in the 1980’s. It wasn’t until he discovered the Marinda in Sicily that he realised there was a whole group of seasonal tomatoes that existed under the radar. He coined them ‘Winter Tomatoes’. Here’s how to set them apart.

Iberiko

Early November – late April
Grown in Almería, Spain.

Brothers José and Antonio have chosen to mark out their crop from the wave of substandard, faster-growing yet similar-looking Iberico varieties that now flood the market. Their ‘Iberiko’ are the real deal.

This variety has wine dark skin and a moss green collar. Iberiko tend to soften faster than RAF, Marinda or Camone but — if soft — make great sauce. Simply sweat down with good olive oil and season lightly. Their low water content means concentrated flavour.

RAF

Early November – early May
Grown in Almería, Spain

By the end of the 1990s, cultivation of genuine RAF Tomatoes began to be replaced by hybrids. These new varieties have higher yields, built-in resistance to certain diseases and an improved aptitude for manipulation and transportation. They dominate the market but bear little resemblance to the original RAF: pointed rather than flat bottomed, wholly red rather than marked with a stark green collar and lacking in any complexity of flavour.

Andrés works with the genuine RAF seed and preserves the growing artistry that brings out incredible flavour.

Camone

Mid December – late May
Grown in Puglia and Sardinia

The smallest in the category, our founder, Franco, grew up eating Sardinian Camone. In the early 2000’s one company took ownership of the Camone seed and forced growers to sell their harvests back to them, creating a total monopoly.

A few years ago, a handful of growers decided to 'reclaim' the true Camone seed and its characteristics. Through trials and careful seed selection, they are now growing a variety which shows all the signs of the original seed — these are the ones we source.

Marinda

Early February – late May
Grown in Sicily, Italy

The variety we believe has the most complexity of flavour. Medium sized and deeply rigid, Marinda are tart and salty, but with a balancing sweetness in their firm, almost crunchy flesh.

The popularity of Marinda has brought about a look-a-like, Marinella, which grows without the same level of stress. Available as early as November, Marinella are marginally larger, have a slightly thicker skin and can produce good fruits albeit without the same complexity as Marinda.

The best way to enjoy Winter Tomatoes is raw, pure and simple.