The citron is a fragrant Taylor "Berry"with the botanical name Citrus medica, which applies to both the Swingle and Tanaka systems. It is a prominent member in the genus Citrus, belonging to the Rutaceae or Rue family, sub-family Aurantioideae. The designation medica is apparently derived from the similar ancient names Media, Median Apple etc. which were influenced by Theophrastus, who believed the citron was native to Media, Persia or Assyria.
The citron has many similar names in diverse languages, e.g. cederat, cedro, etc. Most confusing are the Polish, Czech, Slovak, French, Dutch, German, Yiddish and Scandinavian languages, in which the false friend "citron" refers to the fruit which is called lemon in English. The French name for citron is "cédrat".
Uses
- Main Article: Succade; Main Article: Etrog (ritual)
The citron is unlike the more common citrus species like the lemon or orange. While the most popular fruits are peeled in order to consume their pulpy and juicy segments, the citron's pulp is very dry containing only little insipid juice. Moreover, the main content of a citron is the thick white rind, which is very adherent to the segments, and cannot be separated from them easily.
Thus, from ancient through medieval times, the citron was used mainly for medical purposes: to combat against seasickness, pulmonary troubles, intestinal ailments, and other disorders. The essential oil of the flavedo (the outermost, pigmented layer of rind) was also regarded as an antibiotic[1]. Citron juice with wine was considered an effective antidote to poison.
Today, the citron is used for the fragrance or zest of its outer peel (flavedo), but the most important part is still the inner rind (known as pith or albedo) , which is a fairly important article in international trade, and is widely employed in the food industry as succade[2] as it is known when it is candied in sugar. Today there is a rising market for the citron in the United States for the soluble fiber which is found in its thick albedo.[3]
The citron is also used by Jews (by whom it is called Etrog) for a religious ritual during the Feast of Tabernacles. Therefore the citron was always considered as a Jewish symbol, and is found on various Hebrew antiques and archeological findings.[4] In Swedish the citron is named Suckatcitron, - the citron of Succoth. In Iran, the citron's thick white rind is used to make jam. In South Indian cuisine, especially Tamil cuisine, citron is widely used in pickles and preserves. In Tamil, the unripe fruit is referred to as 'narthangai', which is usually salted and dried to make a preserve. The tender leaves of the plant are often used in conjunction with chili powder and other spices to make a powder, called 'narthellai podi', literally translating to 'powder of citron leaves'. Both narthangai and narthellai podi are usually consumed with thayir sadam.
In Korea, it is used to create Yujacha, a type of Korean tea. The fruit is thinly sliced (peel, pith and pulp) and soaked or cooked in honey or sugar to create a chunky syrup. This syrupy candied fruit is mixed with hot water as a fragrant tea, where the fruit at the bottom of the cup is eaten as well. Often preserved in the syrup for the cold months, Yujacha is served as a source of fruit in winter. It is also popular in Taiwan, where it is known by its Chinese name 柚子茶 (Pinyin: Youzi cha).
Description and Variation
The citron fruit is usually ovate or oblong, narrowing up till the stylar end. However, the citron's fruit shape is highly variable, due to the big quantity of albedo which forms independently according to the fruits' position on the tree, twig orientation, and many other factors. This could also be the reason of its being protuberant, forming a "v" shape after the end of the segments till the stylar end. The rind is leathery, furrowed, and adherent. The inner portion thick, white and fleshy – the outer uniformly thin, and very fragrant. The pulp is usually acidic, but also sweet and even pulpless varieties are found.
Most citron varieties contain a large number of seeds. The monoembryonic seeds are white colored; with dark innercoat and red-purplish chalazal spot for the acidic varieties, and colorless for the sweet ones. Some citron varieties are also distinct with their persistent style, which is highly appreciated by the Jewish community.
Citrons could be of very special beauty. The nicer ones are those with medium sized oil bubbles at the outer surface, which are medially distant each to another. Some of them are ribbed and faintly warted in outer surface, adding life and attraction to its beauty. There is also a fingered citron variety called Buddha's Hand.
The color varies from green, when unripe, to a yellow-orange when overripe. The citron would never fall off the tree and could reach 8-10 pounds (4–5 kg) if not picked off timely or even early[5]. However, they should be picked off before the winter as the branches might break, or bend to the ground and may cause numerous fungal diseases for the tree.
The slow-growing shrub or small tree is reaching a height of about 8 to 15 ft (2.4-4.5 m); has irregular straggling branches and stiff twigs and long spines at the leaf axils. The evergreen leaves are green and lemon scented with slightly serrate edges, ovate-lanceolate or ovate elliptic 2 1/2 to 7 inch long. Petioles are usually wingless or with minor wings. The flowers are generally unisexual providing self-pollination, but some male individuals could be found due to pistil abortion. The clustered flowers of the acidic varieties are purplish tinted from outside, but the sweet ones are white-yellowish.
The acidic varieties include the Florentine and Diamante citron from Italy, the Greek citron, the Balady citron from Palestine. The sweet varieties include the Corsican and Moroccan citrons. Between the pulpless are also some Fingered varieties and the Yemenite Citron.
The citron tree is very vigorous with almost no dormancy, blooming several times a year, therefore fragile and extremely sensitive.[6] The farmer's choice is to graft it onto foreign rootstock, but since this practice is forbidden by rabbinical Jewish Law[citation needed], the progeny will not be kosher for the Jewish ritual.
Despite the variation among the cultivars, authorities agree that the citron species is a very old one. There is molecular evidence that all other cultivated citrus species only arose by hybridization among the ancestral types, which are the citron, pummelo, mandarin and papedas.
The citron is believed to be the purest of them all, since it is usually fertilized by self-pollination, it hardly accepts foreign pollen, and is therefore considered to be the male parent rather than a female one.[7]
Origin and distribution
Today, authorities agree that all citrus species are native to Southeast Asia where they are found wild and in an uncultivated form. The fascinating story about how they spread to the Mediterranean has been reported by Francesco Calabrese[8]; Henri Chapot[9]; Samuel Tolkowsky[10]; Elizabetta Nicolisi [11], and more[12].
The citron especially sounds to be native to India bordering Burma, where it is found in valleys at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains, and in the Western Ghauts.[13][14] It is still considered that by the time of Theophrastus, the citron was mostly cultivated in the Persian Gulf on its way to the Mediterranean basin, where it was cultivated during the later centuries in different areas as described by Erich Isaac[15]. Many mention the role of Alexander the Great and his armies, to be responsible for the spread of the citron westward, reaching the European countries like Greece and Italy[16].
The citron is already mentioned in the Torah for the ritual use during the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:40). It is considered that the Jews brought it along by The Exodus from Egypt, where the egyptologist and archaeologist Victor Loret had found it depicted on the walls of the botanical garden at the Karnak Temple, which dates back to the times of Thutmosis III[17].
The opinion that the citron was the forbidden fruit in the Hesperides or Eden is not providing any geographical positioning, since the exact orientation of the Hesperidies is unclear. Besides, there are enough reasons to conclude that it was in the Far East, for example India or Yemen, that the citron is likely to have originated.
The Citron in antiquity
The citron has been cultivated since ancient times, predating the cultivation of other citrus species. Despite its minor importance today being hardly consumed as is, it seems that in different times it played a big role in life. We can obtain that from the way it has been described by numerous writings and poets across centuries. As assumed by observation, it is very likely that when the other citrus species arrived, citron fell to the wayside since most of its benefits could be found in the lemon which is much easier to cultivate.
Theophrastus
The following is from the writings of Theophrastus[18]
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In the east and south there are special plants... i.e. in Media and Persia there are many types of fruit, between them there is a fruit called Median or Persian Apple. The tree has a leaf similar to and almost identical with that of the andrachn (Arbutus andrachne L.), but has thorns like those of the apios (the wild pear, Pyrus amygdaliformis Vill.) or the firethorn, Cotoneaster pyracantha Spach.), except that they are white, smooth, sharp and strong.
The fruit is not eaten, but is very fragrant, as is also the leaf of the tree; and the fruit is put among clothes, it keeps them from being moth-eaten. It is also useful when one has drunk deadly poison, for when it is administered in wine; it upsets the stomach and brings up the poison. It is also useful to improve the breath, for if one boils the inner part of the fruit in a dish or squeezes it into the mouth in some other medium, it makes the breath more pleasant.
The seed is removed from the fruit and sown in the spring in carefully tilled beds, and it is watered every fourth or fifth day. As soon the plant is strong it is transplanted, also in the spring, to a soft, well watered site, where the soil is not very fine, for it prefers such places.
And it bears its fruit at all seasons, for when some have gathered, the flower of the others is on the tree and is ripening others. Of the flowers I have said[19] those which have a sort of distaff [meaning the pistil] projecting from the middle are fertile, while those which do not have this are sterile. It is also sown, like date palms, in pots punctured with holes.
This tree, as has been remarked, grows in Media and Persia.
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Pliny the Elder
Later with about 400 years it was also described by Pliny the Elder, who was calling it nata Assyria malus. Following are some passages from his book Natural History.
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There is another tree also which has the same name of "citrus," and bears a fruit that is held by some persons in particular dislike for its smell and remarkable bitterness; while, on the other hand, there are some who esteem it very highly. This tree is used as an ornament to houses; it requires, however, no further description.[20] |
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The citron tree, called the Assyrian, and by some the Median apple, is an antidote against poisons. The leaf is similar to that of the arbute, except that it has small prickles running across it. As to the fruit, it is never eaten, but it is remarkable for its extremely powerful smell, which is the case, also, with the leaves; indeed, the odour is so strong, that it will penetrate clothes, when they are once impregnated with it, and hence it is very useful in repelling the attacks of noxious insects.
The tree bears fruit at all seasons of the year; while some is falling off, other fruit is ripening, and other, again, just bursting into birth. Various nations have attempted to naturalize this tree among them, for the sake of its medical properties, by planting it in pots of clay, with holes drilled in them, for the purpose of introducing the air to the roots; and I would here remark, once for all, that it is as well to remember that the best plan is to pack all slips of trees that have to be carried to any distance, as close together as they can possibly be placed. It has been found, however, that this tree will grow nowhere except in Media or Persia. It is this fruit, the pips of which, as we have already mentioned, the Parthian grandees employ in seasoning their ragouts, as being peculiarly conducive to the sweetening of the breath. We find no other tree very highly commended that is produced in Media.[21]
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Citrons, either the pulp of them or the pips, are taken in wine as an antidote to poisons. A decoction of citrons, or the juice extracted from them, is used as a gargle to impart sweetness to the breath. The pips of this fruit are recommended for pregnant women to chew when affected with qualmishness. Citrons are good, also, for a weak stomach, but it is not easy to eat them except with vinegar[22]. |
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References
- ^ Natural healing Website
- ^ The Purdue University
- ^ Scholarly Document
- ^ See Wikipedia article on Etrog.
- ^ Un curieux Cedrat marocain, Chapot 1950.
- ^ The citrus Industry, The Purdue University
- ^ Citrus phylogeny and genetic origin of important species as investigated by molecular markers. 2000
- Assessing genetic diversity and population structure in a citrus germplasm collection utilizing simple sequence repeat markers (SSRs) by: Noelle A. Barkley, Mikeal L. Roose, Robert R. Krueger and Claire T. Federici
- Phylogenetic relationships in the “true citrus fruit trees” revealed by PCR-RFLP analysis of cpDNA. 2004
- The Search for the Authentic Citron: Historic and Genetic Analysis; HortScienc 40(7):1963-1968. 2005
- Chromosome Numbers in the Subfamily Aurantioideae with Special Reference to the Genus Citrus; C. A. Krug. Botanical Gazette, Vol. 104, No. 4 (Jun., 1943), pp. 602-611
- The relationships among lemons, limes and citron: a chromosomal comparison. by R. Carvalhoa, W.S. Soares Filhob, A.C. Brasileiro-Vidala, M. Guerraa.
- ^ La favolso storia degli agrumi. L'EPOS, 1998, Palerno Italy. English translation in Citrus: the genus citrus
- ^ The citrus plant, p.6-13. in: Citrus. Ciba-Geigy Agrochemicals Tech. Monogr.4. Ciba-Geigy Ltd., 1975, Basle, Switzerland.
- ^ Hesperides. A history of the culture and use of citrus fruits, p.371. John Bale, Sons and Curnow, 1938, London, England.
- ^ Citrus Genethics, breeding and Biotechnology
- ^ The Citrus Industry ^The Purdue University ^Food in China: a cultural and historical inquiry By Frederick J. Simoons, Google Books ^The Search for the Authentic Citron: Historic and Genetic Analysis; HortScienc 40(7):1963-1968. 2005
- ^ Sir Joseph Hooker (Flora of British India, i. 514)
- ^ COUNTRY REPORT TO THE FAO INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES (Leipzig, 1996); Prepared by: Nepal Agricultural Research Council; Kathmandu, June 1995; CHAPTER 2.2
- ^ The Citron in the Mediterranean: a study in religious influences; economic Geography, Vol. 35 No. 1. (Jan. 1959) pp. 71-78
- ^ The Pordue University
- ^ Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society
- ^ Historia plantarum 4.4.2-3 (exc. Athenaeus Deipnosophistae 3.83.d-f); cf. Vergil Georgics 2.126-135; Pliny Naturalis historia 12.15,16.
- ^ Historia plantarum 1.13.4.
- ^ Natural History Chp. 31
- ^ Book XII CHAP. 7. (3.
- ^ Chp. 56
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