You’d have to be in a food blog coma if you haven’t read at least one blog post about the Meyer lemon. Before I started this food blogging thing, I had never heard of this lemon before. However, this past winter, it seemed like every other post was about the Meyer lemon. People were making all sorts of dishes out of Meyer lemons: cakes, pies, chicken, ice cream, lemon curd . . . the list goes on and on.
I was really intrigued. What is a Meyer Lemon? And what makes it so special?
The Meyer lemon originated from China, and is actually a cross between a regular lemon and a Mandarin orange! For years it was used mostly as a decorative houseplant because of its pretty fruit. It wasn’t really recognized as a food item until the early 1900’s when Frank Meyer, an American agricultural explorer sent by the US government to seek out new plant species, brought some samples to the US. Since then, people like Alice Waters and Martha Stewart have made this fruit really popular in America.
The color difference between a Meyer lemon and a regular lemon is striking. In the picture below, I have laid Meyer lemon slices next to normal lemon slices. Note how the Meyer lemon is almost orange in color while the normal lemon is a pale yellow.
The Meyer lemon is much less tart and has a light sweetness that must come from the Mandarin side of the family. Its flavor is much more floral and less astringent, and is quite enjoyable on its own (the regular lemon is much more tart!). The skin of a Meyer lemon is much thinner, much less pithy than a regular lemon’s rind. In fact, some say you can eat the rind, although I have not tried that yet.
You can substitute the Meyer lemon for regular lemons in most recipes, as long as you keep in mind that the Meyer lemon is less tart, slightly sweeter, and has a more floral and complex flavor.
Here’s a lovely salad I have been enjoying as part of my “detox” diet for the last few days. After two weekends in a row of traveling to both NYC and DC (more on my dining experiences there soon!) I really needed to clean out some of those rich foods from my system!
Ingredients
Citrus Vinaigrette
I used the citrus vinaigrette recipe from my Thomas Keller citrus marinated salmon with potato blinis and garden greens post. As for modifications, I used a 1:1 ratio of Meyer Lemon juice and regular lemon juice as the “citrus juice.” I wanted some tartness (from the regular lemon), but I also wanted the sweeter, more aromatic flavors of the Meyer lemon. I also found that adding just a touch of sea salt really brought out the flavors of the dressing and made the entire salad much more delicious. Of course, you can use regular salt or kosher salt if you don’t have sea salt on hand.
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that really looks yummy and so healthy. perfect for spring!
Hi I have been following your blog for awhile and it has been very enlightening. I am impressed with the amount of information you know about food! May I ask what you do for a living? I’m just curious because I follow the same interests..
Hi ckuola, I have been a chemist in the past (which explains the science-like nature of some of my posts!) and currently work as a patent attorney. My knowledge about food comes mostly from research I do on the side!
ooh, what a great salad! i used them in my easter dessert and they were fabulous when paired with lavender 🙂
Great read on the Meyer lemon! I’m dreading the day my local store stops carrying them.
I’ve not heard about those as well!
But it sure comes in handy! Not too sure whether do we have those in SG though. Let me check the stores soon! 🙂
I did not know that about meyer lemons! I always thought they were some weird branded lemon from the States and that’s of course because we don’t get them here in Great Britain. And we’re all about the homegrown or locally produced shiz. Thanks for the post. i feel like i know more now and i really wanna taste this sweeter, more floral lemon. x
love the colors… and how you laid out the reg lemon and the meyer ones… very cool
Where, oh WHERE, do you buy Meyer Lemons???
Hi Valerie – I actually found mine at Whole Foods Market. I bet there are places online that sell them, I just haven’t really looked since I can get them at my local supermarket.
Thanks so much! I’ve just checked with Whole Foods, i think they must be out of season now. But I’ll definitely check them out again.
love your blog.
Lovely photos!
Meyer lemons are highly favored by chefs of all leagues and pastry shop owners for their distinct taste including their rind. They leave a good mark on their pastries which is sought by most people. They are also good in any rum cocktail and salad dressing.
I use Meyer lemon vinaigrette for seared scallops which is my family’s favorite. Your aragula salad recipe sound so good that I must try very soon. Nice photos you got here, btw.
I’m so love this blog, already bookmarked it! Thanks.
I was inspired by your article and decided to make Sticky Meyer Lemon Rolls today! http://bit.ly/gqzvlF
Thank you for this! I was always too lazy to google what a Meyer lemon is!
You can buy them at Wallmart too
Thanks so much for sharing this! I had been trying to figure out what the difference was. Gorgeous pictures.
my dad has a meyer lemon tree in his yard i loooooove it soooo much. I will eat them sprinkled with with a little salt. I always tried to explain the difference to people thanks for giving me the exact words!