Buddha Hand Citron Fruit Tree


Picture from White On Rice.

We have inherited at least two Buddha Hand Citron fruit trees. The fruit is amazingly ugly but it SMELLS so good! It smells like a not-tart-lemon. Or a lime. Or a sweet lime. Obviously very difficult to describe but it’s wonderful! I’ve heard of a few uses:

1. Soak the rind in sugar and make a citrus flavored sugar. There are some interesting ideas on Chowhound.
2. Remove the pith and candy the peel.
3. Cut off the fingers and dice and use as you would lemon zest (same taste, less bitter). There are some good looking recipes over at flavorandfortune.
4. Make lemon vodka liqueur…okay, not for us since we don’t drink but maybe you can cook with it? It sure is pretty in the bottle, anyway.

You can buy the tree from Bay Flora for $67 or you can buy the fruit online at Local Harvest for $20 apiece! Geesh! Wish I knew where I could sell them for that in Houston!