Ten years ago the members of the Posada Remigio de Tudela began organizing the “ugly” tomato contest. “We observed that this type of tomato that was star in the orchards of our environment was fading and we wanted to avoid it and put the product into value,” explains Luis Salcedo, who is responsible for the pension and organizer of the competition. This year, in addition, there have been news in the tomato festival: from the competition to the I Tomato Feo de Tudela. The initiative has become a weekend.

Doesn't look matter -- or does it?

Known as “the fea of Tudela”, the protagonist of the competition is the ancient tomato of the Marmande variety. In the 1980s to 1990s, a harsher tomato for transportation was imposed on the market, soft, pretty skin. “At that time aesthetics were more important than taste, and here the peasants began to say: ‘This tomato doesn’t take us because it’s ugly,’ says Salcedo. That’s how Tudela’s tomato won the nickname “ugly”.

In the competition, in addition to the best tomato, also the most ugly. “We have two categories: in the first one the uglier tomato is sought and the audience is the jury. In the second, the best tomato, the special jury participates.”

From the tomato contest to the tomato festival

On 1 and 2 September the residents and neighbors of the town had to see and do: The Helianto Association organized a workshop to learn how to take tomato seeds for children, the Council of Organic Agricultural Production of Navarra (NNPEK) carried out a tasting to compare organic and conventional tomato, a salmorejo tasting and ecological oil, and a cooking workshop taught by the Basque Culinary Center to learn how to prepare tomato recipes.

Because the taste cannot be measured, let the tudelanos continue to sow in their orchards the fewest tomatoes!