Citron

The Citron is a fragrant fruit with the botanical name Citrus Medica L., a prominent member in the genus Citrus which belongs to the Rutaceae or Rue family, sub-family Aurantoideae. Alternative names (e.g. Citrus Media, Median Apple) were influenced by the Theophrastus who considered it being native to Media, Persia or Assyria. However, those names are no longer in common use.

The citron is not a typical citrus fruit like the Lemon or Orange. While the most popular citrus species are peeled in order to consume the inner pulp and juice, the citron contains an extremely dry pulp which has little comparative value to the orange. Moreover, the bulk of the fruit consists of the thick white rind which adheres strongly to the inner pulp and is removed only with great difficulty.

Thus from ancient through medieval times, the citron was generally used only for the fragrance of its outer peel or for derivative medicines against seasickness, pulmonary or intestinal ailments, and other disorders. Citron juice with wine was considered an effective purgative to rid the system of poison. The essential oil of the peel was regarded as an antibiotic.

The most important part of the citron is the peel, which is a fairly important article in international trade. The fruits are halved, de-pulped, immersed in seawater or ordinary salt water to ferment for about 40 days, the brine being changed every 2 weeks; rinsed, put in denser brine in wooden barrels for storage and for export. After partial de-salting and boiling to soften the peel, it is candied in a strong sugar solution. The candied peel is sun-dried or put up in jars for future use. Candying is done mainly in England, France and the United States. The candied peel is widely employed in the food industry, especially as an ingredient in fruit cake, plum pudding, buns, sweet rolls and candy.

Today there is an uprising market for the citron in the United States for the soluble fiber which is found in its thick rind, with the Latin name albedo.

The Citron runs many names in different languages for e.g. cederat, cedro etc., but most confusing is the French language that uses the word "citron" for the Lemon, which is considered to be a citron hybrid.

Origin and distribution
Today, authorities agree that all citrus species are native to Southeast Asia where they are found wild and at an uncultivated form; the fascinating story about how they spread to the Mediterranean has been reported by many (Calabrese, 1998; Chapot, 1975; Tolkowsky, 1938).

The citron especially sounds to be native to India, where it is found in valleys at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains, and in the Western Ghauts. , 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.

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 it was earlier imported from Media for its medicinal or fragrancive use, which might be the first place around the Mediterranean basin where it was found in that time. The opinion that the citron was the attractive fruit which Eva shared with Adam in the Hesperides of 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 e.g. India or Yemen, where the citron was found since ever.

Description and variation
The citron fruit is usually ovate or oblong, narrowing up until 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 are containing a large amount of seeds (about 80 per fruit). The monoembryonic seeds are white colored with dark innercoat and red-purplish chalazal spot for the acidic varieties, and colorless or white 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 close each to another. Some of them are ribbed and faintly warted, adding life and attraction to its beauty. There is also a fingered citron variety called Buddha's Hand.

Color is changing from green when unripe, till 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. However they should be picked off before the winter as the branches might break, or bend to the ground which may cause numerous fungal diseases for the tree.

The slow-growing shrub or small tree is growing to a height of about 8 to 15 ft (2.4-4.5 m); it has irregular straggling branches and stiff twigs and long spines in the leaf axils. The evergreen leafs are pale-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 at least almost wingless. The flowers are generally unisexual providing self-pollination, but some male individuals could be found due to pistil abortion. Flowers of the acidic varieties are purplish tinted, but the sweet ones are white-yellowish.

The citron tree is very vigorous with almost no dormancy, blooming several times a year, therefore fragile and extremely sensitive. The farmer's choice is to graft it onto foreign rootstock, but since this practice is forbidden by Jewish Law, the progeny will not be kosher for the Jewish ritual.

Breeding
There is molecular evidence, that all cultivated citrus species arisen by natural hybridization among the ancestral types, which are the citron, pommelo, mandarin and papedas. The citron is believed to be the purest of them all since it is usually fertilizing by self-pollination, and is considered to be the male parent rather than a female one.