Meyer lemons!

Christen is awesome. She had lemons from a friend’s tree so she brought me some. They sat in a bag all through class, but on my way back out to the car I opened the bag and this incredible fragrance wafted out at me. I looked at the lemons, and lo and behold, they are Meyer lemons! They are such gourmet darlings that the mere mention of Meyer lemons is enough to turn on a lot of foodies. Um, including me, apparently.

Here’s what Alice Waters has to say about Meyers:

To those who have never tasted them, our recurring insistence on Meyer lemons may seem an irritating California eccentricity, but I don’t know many people who have tried one without getting hooked.

Meyer lemons have become so popular with restaurant chefs and home cooks alike that we suffer periodic shortages! Ripe Meyer lemons are sweeter than other lemons, and the skin has a distinctive floral fragrance, similar to a combination of lemon and orange. The fruits are rounder than common lemons and have golden yellow- to orange-tinged skin and tender, very juicy orange-yellow flesh.

Imported from China in 1908 by the botanical adventurer whose name they bear, Meyer lemons are most likely a hybrid of lemons and mandarins. . . They are more fragile than other lemons and do not cure and color in storage as well; they are juicier and their skin is more tender.

Alice Waters, Chez Panisse Fruit, 2002

I should be preparing a presentation for tomorrow, but I couldn’t resist using the lemons right away. I’m saving some to make lemon bars for a party on Friday, but already I’ve zested three of them to make candied zest, and squeezed juice out of them to make lemonade.

[This post was imported on 4/10/14 from my old blog at satsumabug.livejournal.com.]