Meyer Lemon

The Meyer Lemon is a citrus fruit from China. It is thought to be a cross of a lemon and mandarin orange. It is called a Meyer Lemon because it was back to America by Frank Meyer in 1908. He was an agricultural explorer for the USDA.

Meyer Lemons are large, juicy citrus fruit that has a smooth, pliable rind that is relatively thin. Most Meyer Lemons are very juicy and full of seeds. It is very low in acid and tastes similar to an un-sweet orange with lemon undertones. The skin is usually light orange in color, and they sometimes look like a blotted lemon. Meyer Lemons are in season from November to March.

Meyer Lemon Curd

3 to 4 Meyer lemons

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

Finely grate enough zest from lemons to measure 2 tsp. and squeeze enough juice to measure 1/2 cup. Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a metal bowl and add butter. Set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, whisking, until thickened and smooth, and an instant read thermometer registers 160F, about 5 minutes. Force curd through a fine sieve set into another bowl. Serve warm, or cover surface of curd with wax paper and cool completely. Makes 1 3/4 cup.

Meyer Lemon Margarita

1/3 cup tequila 1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice 1/3 cup Cointreau Kosher salt (optional) Ice cubes

Mix tequila, lemon juice, and Cointreau in a cocktail shaker. For optional salted rims, rub 2 rocks glass rims with one of the lemon peels to moisten and dip in salt if 21desired; fill glasses with ice. Pour margarita mix into prepared glasses and serve. Serves 2

Cite me: Denlinger, J. (2013, February 21). Meyer Lemon. Retrieved from: FloridaChef.net

#meyerlemon #margarita