Interesting facts

The citrus fruits owe their generic name "Citrus" to their ability to drive away moths and other pests with their strong smell. The Greek word "kedrus" was used to designate heavily scented woods that also kept away pests. For example, Arborvitae, Juniper and Cedar (Cedrus). Linguistic usage became blurred and the citrus fruits were left with the name.

More than 4000 years ago citrus fruits such as the lemon were cultivated in China as objects of very high value which were initially reserved for the Emperor and other high-standing officials. Lemon trees were known as "golden-headed slaves" which brought riches and prestige to their owners. Alexander the Great became acquainted with the lemon, the "Golden Apple", during his Asian campaign (334-324 B.C.). However, it was only several hundred years later that the lemon reached our part of the world, probably being brought to Europe by the Arabs in the 10th century.

A special form of the lemon, the "Ethrog" or "Esrog" plays a ritual role in the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth) along with palm leaves, myrtle and willow branches. The well-known picture by Marc Chagall "Feast Day (Rabbi with Lemon)" depicts one of these fruits. The fruit must be bright yellow and without blemish and may only be used if it has the spindle-like shape shown. In order to obtain this shape, which occurs relatively seldom in nature, Esrog growers in Israel have the young fruits grow into special glass receptacles. Every year in September the carefully selected ripe fruits are then picked by hand, packed in hemp and shipped to Jewish communities throughout the world.