Did the ancient Romans eat lemons?

Answer 1

Yes and no. The Romans knew of lemons from their trade contacts with the far east and India. Because of the expense involved getting lemons to Italy, the fruit was extremely expensive and only the very wealthy could afford them. The consensus is that the lemon tree itself arrived in Italy sometime in the first century AD. but it was not popular. A few of the cooks of the wealthy may have used them in desserts or for flavoring, but on the whole lemons were not popular Roman fruits.