Citrus medica, a citrus fruit resembling a huge, rough lemon. Some varieties may be as much as 30 cm (1′) long. Most of the bulk is thick, dense rind; inside this the flesh is dryish and may be either sour or sweet, with a weak lemon flavour. The rind, which has a unique, resinous fragrance, is the most useful part.
The citron, like the lemon and lime, is native to NE India, where it was used from early times as a perfume and in medicine. The earliest reference to it is in the Vajasaneyi Samhita, a collection of religious texts dating from before 800 bc, in which it is called jambila. The fruit seems always to have had a curious connection with religion and magic, and a high reputation as medicine, being regarded as an antidote to almost any poison and indeed almost a panacea.
Before 600 bc the citron had spread to Persia, then ruled by the Medes. From there it reached Babylonia, where it came to the notice of the exiled Jews, who later brought it back to Palestine. In 325 bc the army of Alexander the Great, returning from India to Macedonia, brought word of the citron to Europe; and soon afterwards the Greek writer Theophrastus described it, using the term ‘apple’ in its very general sense (usual in classical times), and under the heading ‘the trees and herbs special to Asia’:
The Median or Persian apple is not eaten, but is very fragrant, as also is the leaf of the tree. And if the ‘apple’ is placed among clothes, it keeps them from being motheaten. It is also useful when one has drunk deadly poisons, for being given in wine it upsets the stomach and brings up the poison: also for producing sweetness of breath.
Early attempts to grow the citron in Greece and Italy failed. However, the fruits, which keep very well, were imported as an exotic delicacy. Eventually, around the 1st century ad, perhaps because of a slight warming in the Mediterranean climate, it became possible to grow the fruit in parts of S. Europe (or further north in hothouses).
Later the citron gave its name to the whole group of citrus fruits as they became known in Europe, simply because it had been the first of them to arrive. There was also a confusion with its smaller and juicier relative the lemon (French citron, German Zitrone).
The citron did not reach China until the 4th century ad. When it did, a freak form (sometimes classified as var sarcodactyla) developed in which the fruit was separated into five (or more) lobes looking like the fingers of a hand. This variety, called fo shu kan (Buddha's hand), was considered a symbol of happiness. For this reason and because of its especially fine scent, it was placed on household altars. Later it also became popular in Japan.
The ordinary citron also had religious symbolism from an early date. Perhaps because of its splendid size it came to represent wealth. In India the god of wealth, Kuvera, is always represented as holding a citron in one hand and a mongoose spewing jewels in the other.
In Orthodox Jewish practice a particular variety of citron, Etrog (which is also the Hebrew word for citron), is used during the joyous Feast of the Tabernacles, following the biblical commandment (Leviticus 23): ‘And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of a beautiful tree … and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.’ The Hebrew phrase pri etz hadar, literally ‘the fruit of a beautiful tree’, has always been identified with the etrog.
What is clear is that early uses of the citron were purely religious or medical. Even as late as the times of Pliny the Elder (about ad 75) it did not figure as an ordinary food. Soon afterwards, however, the practice of cutting the rind into strips for culinary use began. The Romans soaked it in vinegar or garum (fish sauce) and other liquids. Apicius gives several recipes.
After the fall of the Roman Empire the citron remained important in Arab cuisine. The Baghdad physician Muwaffaq Ed-Din Abd el-Latif bin Yusuf mentions an Egyptian citron containing ‘another citron complete with its yellow peel’—in other words, a navel. There were other varieties, ‘some of them as big as a watermelon’. The gradual introduction of sugar to the Arab world and later to Asia allowed citron rind to be candied.
Citrons are now used almost exclusively for the manufacture of candied peel; the Buddha's hand variety is candied in China. Etrog citrons are in heavy demand in Jewish communities throughout the world for the Feast of the Tabernacles. The main producers are Italy, Greece, Corsica, Morocco, and Israel. Some are grown in the USA.
Although the citron is not particularly juicy, juice can be got from it. This was used for making a refreshing soft drink which was the precursor of lemonade. In Italy it was called acquacedrata, and in the 17th and 18th centuries the vendor of this, with a tank on his back, was a familiar sight in Italian cities. The term acquacedrata for lemonade is still occasionally heard.
World production of citrons is small. Apart from the two varieties already mentioned, Corsican (described as a ‘sweet’ citron because of its lack of acidity) and Diamante (acid flavoured) are of some importance. The cultivar Earle, which resembles Diamonte, originated in Cuba.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
