Lovely Lemons!
This year’s crop of lemons from our tree is enormous! Anyone want some??
We inherited a beautiful and prolific citrus tree with the house when we moved in over four years ago. Research suggests it is a rootstock, or rough lemon, a very hearty type of citrus used to graft other more delicate species. As nice as it is, we haven’t been very good with maintenance, and it’s gone a little wild.
Notice that the weight of the fruit has pulled it over, across the fence, and has actually caused the roots to pull up! The tangle in the power lines isn’t a good thing, either! We do plan to trim it way back after it “finishes”, as our yard man would say.
The thick and slightly bumpy skin of these lemons yields a fresh, fragrant zest, and I’ve successfully used it in recipes. The flesh is very mild, and although the juice is sour, it is sparse.
They’ll definitely become part of our holiday decorations this year, and I’ve had some good suggestions for freezing both the juice and zest. A batch of limoncello is also on the test list, although I’ll probably have to increase the normal zest to alcohol ratio with these!
Let me know if you have any other ideas! We have a lot!
