August 7, 2008
sourpuss
A totally underrated yet magical fruit that you should use more of is something I have only recently come to cherish. It is the Meyer Lemon and I am in love. I moved into a house with a tree brimming with such sweet/tart fruits right when it was in the peak of it’s season. Some weeks I had to pick close to 20 lemons, just to keep them from falling off and rotting on the ground. I would have offered them to my neighbors, but it seems that they are a common addition to every yard on the block. Saddled with an abundance of fruity goodness I set out to explore the numerous ways I could use the lemons. The results were interesting, varied, always tasty and eventually so plentiful that my husband asked if we could take a break from the lemons for a while.
The meyer lemon is an interesting lemon, because it is thought to be a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. This gives is a slightly rounder and sometimes more orange outside than a normal lemon would have. They are also sweeter and slightly less acidic, traits I accidentally discovered on my first adventure with them: Lemonade.
Now, with normal lemons you have to dilute the juice with a larger ratio of water and sugar. With the meyer lemons, I tried to use my normal lemonade ratios, and resulted in a watered down sugary sweet mess. I think the meyer lemons are best left to cooking and baking, and lemonade is best left to the original with it’s super tartness and pucker.
My favorite use of meyer lemons is in a modified lemon curd, which can be used for everything from filling cupcakes to baking tarts. Lemon tarts are particularly delicious when made with meyer lemons, although any dessert with them is great. Meyer Lemon sorbet, meyer lemon bars… the list is long (and I got through most of it). I even experimented with making gluten-free crusts on the tarts. They weren’t as flaky and buttery as a normal tart crust, but they were passable. It seems with so many lemons to spare, any dish was a possible canvas for lemon.
In cooking, and citrus marinade is fantastic. I’m a fan of citrus marinated tilapia over quinoa with green beens.
For salad dressings squeeze a little together with some olive oil and a champagne vinegar black pepper and other seasonings to taste.
I won’t go into too much detail on the specific recipes, but just know that these are a great addition to your grocery list to experiment with. A little zest or scraping in a cocktail, a little squeeze over some pasta… it can be your secret weapon (or as in my case, your little love affair).
The season has dwindled for now, but I’m looking forward to fall when I can start my day with a meyer citron presse (hot water with a squeeze of lemon) and end it with a slice of meyer lemon tart. Life does give you lemons sometimes and it is the best thing that could have happend to me.
Filed under: Random, Ingredients
August 12th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Ahh! This post makes me want to raid your tree soooo bad…
Can you promise me a Meyer Party when the season’s in full swing? The hallways will run with the juice of the inferior fruits and they shall know us by the… …trail of peels.
August 12th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Yes! it is already laden with tons of green lemons! As soon as they are ripe I will give you a heads up! (I also have an eye on my orange and pomegranate tree)