A tomato of the Zaragozano variety, with an intense red color and a perfect balance between sweetness and acidity, stood out among 600 others, being unanimously chosen as the Best Tomato in Spain 2025 at the National Festival of Ancient Tomatoes in Polanco (Cantabria).
The masterminds behind this achievement are the farmers of Huerto EsVida, led by Juan Refojo. This non-profit project focuses on promoting organic farming and has won this award for the third consecutive year.
«This is just the beginning. In terms of genetic conservation, it is not only about recovering a variety but also about maintaining it with the same characteristics and quality,» Juan Refojo.
The Horticultural Germplasm Bank of Zaragoza has been key in recovering this variety, along with researchers like Cristina Mallor and Fernando Villa. The collection of the Zaragozano tomato preserved there includes eight samples dating back to the 1980s.
Miguel Ángel Vicente, director of El Gastrónomo Zaragozano, promoted a project in 2023 to rescue this variety after 50 years of neglect. With the support of experts like Cristina Mallor and José Luis Lorente, they managed to cultivate and evaluate the different samples, highlighting sample number 5, with which Huerto EsVida won the award.
