While the rest of the country is still in hibernation, Northern Californians are enjoying the return of the warm, Mediterranean sunshine and a new crop of cheerful, aromatic Meyer lemons.
Once considered an ornamental plant — even in Asia, where botanical explorer Fred Meyer discovered it around 1909 and brought it back to the West — the lemons took the culinary world by storm after Berkeley Chef Alice Waters, and then Martha Stewart, took up their cause in the 1980s and championed them as a prized addition to both savory and sweet dishes.
“Those are the two who really pushed it to the forefront of people’s consciousness,” said author and illustrator A. Cort Sinnes of Napa. “Now you can go to any Whole Foods across the country, and they will have them … at least for a few months.”
Sinnes, who grew up in the town of Napa, recently paid tribute to the luscious Meyer lemon by writing, illustrating and self-publishing his own cookbook, “Mad about Meyer Lemons,” featuring 36 recipes accompanied by 36 paintings of the fat, juicy lemons. The project was conceived as an homage to artist Katsushika Hokusai’s “36 Views of Mt. Fuji” and Henri Riviere’s “36 Views of the Eiffel Tower.”
“It took forever … I spent three years working on it,” Sinnes said in a phone interview. “It never made any sense for a traditional publisher to take it on because it’s a regional book … it’s a really large area that can grow Meyer lemons, from the West Coast and the Southwest all the way to the South, but California has become associated with them.”
The Meyer lemon — prized more for its perfume than its pucker — is believed to be a natural hybrid between a regular lemon and an orange, with a fragrant aroma and a flavor that is less sour than a Eureka lemon. However, it has a tight, thin skin and soft texture that makes it more difficult to ship.
The orange-yellow fruit, which grows easily and prolifically, can be seen all over Wine Country this time of year.
“I live in old Napa, and you can’t go half a block without seeing an 8-foot-tall Meyer lemon bush with 300 lemons on it,” Sinnes said. “We take it for granted, but someone else would think it unbelievable to have this abundant fruit just hanging by your door.”
Lorrette Patzwald, pastry chef for the Healdsburg Shed since it opened nearly four years ago, looks forward every year to the bounty of Meyer lemons that help her create wintry treats and desserts, from olive oil cakes to cornmeal biscotti.
“The Meyer lemons are so versatile, fragrant and beautiful,” she said. “It’s really nice to make savory sweets, with herbs like thyme and rosemary and with olive oil.”
Patzwald likes to candy or dehydrate the peels for garnishing. She even takes whole lemons, chops them up and macerates them with sugar, then bakes them into a cake or as a topping for ice cream.
“Between our larder and our cafe and coffee bar and events, we use up a few cases every week,” she said. “I have a tree in my back yard, and at home, I can them and make marmalade and freeze the juice.”
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