the fruit of Citrus limon, a fruit which may, as Harold McGee (2004) notes, be the consequence of a two-step hybrid, first between a citron and a lime (perhaps in NW India), and then between that cross and a pomelo in the Middle East. Evidence for the lemon being known to the Romans (as opposed to the citron) is inconclusive and most modern opinion veers towards ascribing its introduction throughout the Mediterranean to the Arabs from the 7th century ad (Zohary and Hopf, 1993). This is despite Tolkowsky's (1938) references to frescos found at Pompeii (and therefore prior to ad 70) which show what he regards as indisputably lemons, as well as a mosaic pavement probably from Tusculum (now Frascati) of about 100 ad in which a lemon is shown with an orange and a citron.
Thus the fruit which can reasonably be regarded as the most important for European cookery was a comparatively late arrival. Nor was its use in cookery, as an acid element, appreciated at once. Nor, indeed, was there a Latin word for lemon. It seems likely that in classical Rome the fruit was treated as a curiosity and a decoration, and that lemon trees were not grown successfully in Italy until later.
Lemon cultivation in the Mediterranean was certainly the consequence of Arab initiative. Soon after their conquest a fully indigenous orchard production had been established in S. Europe. It flourished in Sicily and Spain and parts of N. Africa, and the Mediterranean is still the source of many of the lemons consumed in Europe.
Arab traders also spread the lemon eastward to China. The Chinese name li mung is clearly an imported derivation. Lemons are first discussed in the texts of the Sung period (960–1279 ad) although it seems likely that some had been cultivated earlier.
During the Middle Ages lemons were rare and expensive in N. Europe, and available only to the rich. In the Near East, the lemon's wide range of culinary uses was explored. The Treatise of the Lemon, which was written by Saladin's physician Ibn Jamiya, gives recipes for lemon syrup and preserves. His work was translated into Latin and published in Venice in 1583. At this time in Italy lemons were becoming plentiful enough to be important in the kitchen. The use of lemon slices as a garnish for fish was widespread. The Archbishop of Milan's chef Christoforo di Messisbugo (a name with many variations in spelling), whose important culinary treatise Libro Novo … came out in several editions in the middle of the 16th century, gave recipes for marinated brill with lemon slices and candied citron and orange peel.
The lemon reached the New World (where there are no native citrus species) in 1493, when Columbus, on his second voyage, established a settlement on Haiti. Within twenty years there were abundant crops of good quality. The Portuguese introduced the lemon to Brazil before 1540 (and it was from Rio de Janeiro that the captain of the ‘First Fleet’ of colonists bound for Australia obtained the first lemon trees to be planted in that continent in 1788). In 1565 the Spanish set up their first colony in Florida, San Agostino (now St Augustine), and almost certainly planted lemons among many other Old World varieties. While lemons had been grown in California since the time of the early Spanish missions of the 1730s, it was not until after their dissolution in 1833 and particularly during the sudden increase of population caused by the 1849 gold rush that they were cultivated on a larger scale. Since 1950 California has apparently produced more lemons than all of Europe combined.
There is irony in the reflection that the crews of the ships responsible for spreading the lemon would have been at risk from scurvy, without realizing that they were carrying the fruit which was to prove an effective cure for the disease. The finding was obscured by a mass of quack curers until the British naval surgeon James Lind endorsed it in his Treatise on the Scurvy, written in 1753. Even so, it was not until the end of the century that the Royal Navy began to issue lemon juice to its sailors.
However, in modern times it is the well-known culinary uses of the lemon which are important. It is the most common accompaniment for fish and other seafood dishes. But it is equally important as a souring agent; its pleasant acidity is crucial to the taste of many dishes. It acts as a flavour enhancer for other fruit when it is cooked or used with other ingredients. Certain tropical fruits, such as papaya, guava, and avocado, need its sharpness.
It is perhaps in the cuisines of the Middle East that the lemon is used to the maximum extent. Not only fresh, but also dried or pickled/preserved lemons are common in Arab kitchens; see, for example, Perry (1995a).
Lemon is interchangeable with vinegar for many sauces and salad dressings and may give a more delicate result. The Greek avgolémono sauce, which is embodied in several famous Greek soups, demonstrates the affinity between eggs and lemons, a theme which recurs in some versions of mayonnaise.
Stobart (1980) advocates a wider appreciation of the zest of the fruit, which contains the essential oil and thus acts not just to flavour but to perfume food. This can be important in many of the sweet dishes for which lemon is a vital ingredient. Lemon chiffon pie, lemon meringue pie, lemon mousse, and lemon soufflé are just a few of scores of examples.
Lemon, a valuable source of pectin as well as of flavour, is important in making many jams and jellies. And every cook knows that when something acidic is needed to prevent enzyme browning (as with cut apples) a dash of lemon juice may be the best solution.
Home-made lemonade (lemon juice, water, sugar, ice) is as fine a beverage as any in the world, and particularly refreshing in hot weather; this is citron pressé in France. In the Middle East and India, lemon sherbets are essentially the same thing. The carbonated drinks sold as ‘fizzy lemonade’ or ‘lemon soda’ or the like may or may not have a true lemon flavour, but in any case constitute a different sort of drink.
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.
McGee, Harold (2004), McGee on Food & Cooking, London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Perry, Charles (1995b), ‘The Fate of the Tail’, in Disappearing Foods, Oxford Symposium on Food History 1994, Totnes: Prospect Books.
Stobart, Tom (1980), The Cook's Encyclopaedia, London: B. T. Batsford. Also repr 1999, London: Grub Street.
Tolkowsky, S. (1938), Hesperides, London: Staples & Staples.
