Huevo de Toro tomatoes: how to recognise them and where to buy them

Food and drink

Farmers and chefs explain the key features of this traditional variety from the Guadalhorce Valley, so you can learn how to choose it, find the main places where it’s sold, and make the most of a season packed with culinary delights

Javier Almellones

Malaga

The ‘Huevo de Toro’ (bull's ball) tomato doesn’t always look particularly appealing at first glance. And that’s where much of the confusion ... begins.

Anyone looking for a perfectly round, completely red, smooth and unblemished tomato might make a mistake when choosing one of the most eagerly awaited summer produce in the Guadalhorce Valley. With this traditional variety, some of the features that might appear to be flaws in other tomatoes are, in fact, part of its identity.

Sebastián Hevilla, a farmer and expert on this crop, sums it up with a simple idea: not all tomatoes are the same. “We’re growing them outdoors, using organic methods. We’re going to find a lot of variation,” he explains.

This diversity of shapes, sizes and appearances is not due to a flaw, but to the very nature of an heirloom variety, grown in conditions very different from those of the more uniform commercial tomatoes.

Mariano Rodríguez, from the restaurant M de Mariano, agrees with this view. “Mainly oil, salt and the tomato. Nothing else,” he sums up. For him, the key lies in the texture and the flavour. “Flavour is non-negotiable,” he asserts. There may be more visually striking dishes or more elaborate techniques, but the true value of this tomato becomes apparent the moment it touches your tongue.

That doesn’t mean it can’t be used in other dishes. Chefs also highlight how well it works in gazpacho, porra or homemade tomato sauce. Daniel Nebro points out that it works well in traditional tomato-based dishes all year round, whilst Mariano Rodríguez notes that, when he receives a large haul of ripe tomatoes, he uses them to make tomato sauce or porra. Even so, they all come back to the same basic principle: the best way to honour it is usually not to cover it up.

Key dates

The campaign also features several key dates. The gastronomic tour will take place from 31 July to 31 August in restaurants across the province. Prior to this, the programme also includes activities aimed at promoting the product, including the poetry competition introduced this year. The Verbena Tomatera is scheduled for 13 and 14 August in Coín, and on 15 August one of the best-known events will take place: the tasting competition and auction of the best ‘Huevo de Toro’ tomatoes, in aid of charity.

This whole programme confirms that the ‘Huevo de Toro’ tomato is no longer just a summer crop. It is also a way of championing the Guadalhorce vegetable-growing region, local farming and the revival of traditional varieties. Just a few years ago, this tomato had been relegated to the background. Today, it returns every summer, generating a sense of anticipation that is evident in the markets, in kitchens and on dining tables.

The key, for anyone who wants to enjoy it properly, is to learn to look at it in a different way. You shouldn’t necessarily be looking for the most perfect tomato, but rather one that displays the hallmarks of this variety: grown in the open air, with an identification stamp, green shoulders, thin skin, plenty of flesh, few seeds and a short growing season. Sometimes, the Huevo de Toro that’s most worth trying isn’t the one that looks the prettiest, but the one that best captures the character of the Guadalhorce vegetable gardens.