Fruit
Lemon
LimónLlimonaCitrus × limon
Lemon trees flower and fruit almost all year round, which is why they're never missing. More a seasoning than a fruit.
When
Around: all year · At its best: Dec–Apr
Around: all year · At its best: Dec–Apr
Around: all year · At its best: Jun–Oct
Around here
Nearly all shop lemons come from Murcia and Alicante: Fino from autumn to winter and Verna, with thicker skin, from spring to summer. Here they're more of a garden and patio thing: plenty of houses on the coast have a lemon tree. In Catalan cooking, lemon peel with cinnamon is what flavours crema catalana.
At the market
- Heavy, with a little give when squeezed: it'll have more juice than a rock-hard one.
- Thin, smooth skin for juice; for zest, go unwaxed (look for «untreated»).
- Avoid soft spots, sunken patches or wrinkled skin.
At home
- Out of the fridge, a week.
- In the fridge, in a closed bag so they don't dry out, up to a month.
- A cut half: face down on a plate in the fridge, and use it within a couple of days.
- Before squeezing, roll it hard on the worktop: it gives more juice.
If you have too much
- Moroccan preserved lemons: cut in a cross, packed with salt and pressed into a jar. In a month, the peel is edible.
- Limoncello: pith-free peel in 96% alcohol, then syrup.
- Freeze juice in ice-cube trays and zest in a small jar.
- Lemon curd: juice, zest, egg, sugar and butter, for toast and tarts.
In the kitchen
- Crema catalana: the milk infused with lemon peel and a cinnamon stick.
- A squeeze at the end on lentils, grilled fish or artichokes.
- Homemade lemonade with mint and not much sugar.
- Salad dressing with lemon juice instead of vinegar.
- Oven-roasted lemon chicken with garlic and rosemary.
What it brings
Per 100 g, raw.
- Energy
- 29 kcal
- Water
- 89% water
- Carbs
- 9.3 g
- Sugars
- 2.5 g
- Fibre
- 2.8 g
- Protein
- 1.1 g
Stands out for
- High in vitamin C53 mg · 66% of what you need in a day
Data from the USDA (FoodData Central). See the full table ↗ · How we decide what stands out
Goes with
- ArtichokeNov–MayIt's a flower bud eaten before it opens. It also leaves a sweet aftertaste that makes water, or wine, taste different straight afterwards.
- Broad beanFeb–MayYou buy a kilo and end up with a handful: the pod weighs more than the beans. The first small, tender ones can even be eaten raw.
- AsparagusMar–JunWhite and green asparagus are the same plant: the white kind grows buried in soil and never sees the sun. The thin, bitter one that pops up wild along field edges is another species.
- SpinachOct–AprYou buy a huge bag, tip it into the pan and end up with a handful. Allow about 250 g raw per person if it's the main event.