My pleasure Mark. Of the two trees I gave you one was a seedling and the other was a sucker or runner. Your fruit has grown a lot bigger than the ones I have here but similar to the ones still growing at the farm. Mine had more fruit and less pith. They are amazingly tough as the cows do get to graze on them despite the fencing we have added. I'm now retired and made some marmalade myself (OK with Lynn telling me what to do) which was not too bad for a first attempt. (Needed to add Fowlers Jamsetta to get it to set). One citron really perfumes our house when I have picked one. A friend described the taste of the marmalade as "It tastes like it smells." Apparently monks used to use it to perfume their robes. They are related to Budda's Hands fruit apparently.
Hey Doug and Lynn! I'm glad you saw this video - cool... So one was also a sucker, hey. Interesting! I planted the other one in an area that is now bushed out with pigeon pea plants - I'll have to check and see if it has survived being shaded out. Like I said in the video, I really like this fruit, and I can see us using it heaps. Just brainstorming now, I reckon the rind would flavour a traditional lemon and olive oil Italian pasta beautifully! Anyway, thanks again mate and all the best in retirement too. Cheers :)
@@Selfsufficientme Yeah the rind is amazing. I think the pith makes marmalade bitter though. It’s an odd plant sending out suckers like it does. I’ve grown a pile of ginger and made some ginger marmalade but want to try a ginger and citron one. I gave a seedling citron to a friend and she has had a few fruit already too and the tree is not that old. The barb wire is working well at the farm and keeping the cows out and all the rain this year produced a great crop. I’m really happy to be able to spread this special citrus variety around.
BTW This fruit is widely used in the Orthodox Jew Community at "sucot" holiday. The name of it in Hebrew is "Etrog" and has a link to the Bible starting at the period of Moses. In Israel there's a lot of varieties of this fruit going from lemon size to melon size. And there are some varieties that don't have juice at all inside of them just seeds covered by only white material shell ( forgot the name)
And it's not one of the rarest although it's one of the ancients... oldest... one of five strains that started the citrus family tree. for example, lemon, is a mix of Citron and lime-K
Hey Mark, I grew up in the middle of an orange grove. From my Pappy- the pith is the tell-tell of the weather. If you have excellent growing conditions, the pith is thin and the fruit is sweeter. A early cold snap, or excessive rain, when they set their fruits.. 🤔..OH, well that thickens up the pith to protect the fruit. So, considering you had a massive wet season, the pith is right on target. It protected it's seeds. Next year, if conditions are perfect, you will have different fruits. Now, citrus loves chicken poop.. Pappy never-ever used anything on his trees, but that- once a year. His oranges were prized in our area.
Hey K.P. That was a very interesting comment you posted and the information PRICELESS! I will draw from yours and Pappy’s advice and knowledge - I have always wondered why the skin got so thick on my lemons and now I know - Will definitely be spreading the chicken poop love around. God bless and greetings from Sydney Australia. 🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋💗🙏☮️🐨🇦🇺🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋
During Sukkot, the Jewish people use this fruit, which they call an etrog. Together with the lulav, hadass, and aravah, the etrog is taken in hand and held or waved during specific portions of the holiday prayers.
Hi Mark, Citron makes wonderful marmalade. Juice made from Citron is very refreshing on a cold day with some ice. Also the oil from the skin is use to make insect repellent ( spray , candles ) or just the good old Citronella oil to burn outdoors . . . . . .and thanks to Doug we can now see a video of this fruit .
Hi Mark! Thank you for this interesting video. We have Citron in my country (especially in northern Iran). We call it بالنگ [balang]. They use it to make a wonderful marmalade witch tastes and smells amazing. See you soon in your next video !😊
Uuuuuh, don't throw away the pith! It's really great candied and diced, you can use it in all kind of cakes, Christmas pudding, or just as a treat. It's really easy to candy, just boil small cubes for about 20 minutes in a strong sugar sirup, then let them dry on a cookie sheet. Thanks for a great video (and might i suggest you start selling the seeds?)
I would peel the skin, dehydrate it and powder it and use it as a seasoning. And I would be interested in a lemon marmalade using that. Love your channel. Thanks for sharing.
The citron, along with the myrtle, willow and date palm are the "four species" of plants used in Israel for the traditional celebration of Sukkot, an autumn Jewish holiday. There is a beautiful film including this tradition called 'Ushpizin', or "The Guests". It is subtitled in English. Highly recommended and family friendly. Thanks, Mark, for another great video!
Hi Mark I love watching your videos. I'm 49 and growing things has become so peaceful for me. I live in New York and I have a small area for a garden. Your tips have been awesome in helping producing a lot with a small space. This was a great video ! I found myself wishing I could grow that tree in my yard, but alas its too cold here. Wow , you tasting that fruit was great. It sounds amazing. I'm also a Army veteran and US Coast guard, thank you for service. We vets love our Aussie Brothers and sisters. Cheers.
Well...this explains what I had in my backyard when I had my house in Stockton, CA. A Citron-of unknown variety. They were HUGE. Larger than the one you cut and had maybe a walnut sized fruit area inside. Maybe smaller even. Never ate one in the 9 yrs I lived there as I didn't know what it was (and wasn't into gardening back then...). It also had HUGE massive thorns that if you didn't watch out mowing the lawn....you'd get one in the backside!
When he said "Citron" I was looking for those thorns! Parents had a tree in Honolulu, HI. Got snagged by it many times. We never researched on how to use it. My grandfather would flavor water with slices, and it was still so tart and sour for us kids.
You should see the thorns on the bitter, but intensely fragrant, Dragon Orange (Poncirus trifoliata). They are often over 2 inches long and sharp as needles at the tips. Dragon Orange is the most cold-tolerant of any citrus relatives, having evolved in Mongolia. Some are capable of surviving temps down to -20F!
Candied citron is my favorite Christmas cake addition. I really makes a good fruitcake-type addition. I think that must be why it's grown. But candied citron tends to be expensive here in the US!
Mark, your citron reminds me of a Diamante citron. Diamante citrons taper to an end like yours, though not always to the same degree. Diamante citrons are known for having thick, firm piths with juice that is not as acidic as lemons usually are. Your tree does not have all the hallmarks of a Diamante citron, since yours is not thorny like the Diamante, but variations can be expected with seed grown fruit several generations removed from its original parentage. Diamante was the main citron variety in the Italian region of Calabria, where it is known as Cedro di Diamante. If the Mary River area around Gympie had Italian settlers, they could have brought it with them from the old country. Like other commenters have indicated, the pith is quite useful candied and should not be discarded. You can also make traditional succade from the pith, which seems like just the type of project you would love to do and document on the channel.
Another great video Mark I've discovered so many great food ideas from you. I remember the year I bought a batch of homemade candied citron at a church fair. No one knew what it was and it wasn't selling. I bought the lot and made the best fruit cakes ever that year with it. Even people who said they hated fruit cake liked it. I never was able to recreate it but now I know what to do.
Hi Mark, love your videos. The citron is used in quite a few different ways... the juice and rind can be used for marmelade and the pith is perfect for candying. In my opinion the pith of the citron is less bitter than the pith of of other citrus fruits (even a bit sweet, unless you get too close to the part you would normally use as peel) and can also be used as a thickening agent. In southern europe the citron is eaten like a carpaccio (whole fruite sliced very thin and seasoned with salt, pepper, basil and olive oil). I very much reccomend trying it at least once.
Hi Mark ,you certainly run very interesting videos. The Citron is a very old citrus tree in Iraq and many families have this tree in their back yard gardens . It is called " ATRANG " in Iraqi spoken slang but it is also the name used in classical Arabic. Marmalade made from the outside part of Atrang without the soft part in the middle is very tasty and popular in Iraq specially in Baghdad.
Thanks Mark and Doug Roach for this informative experience. I planted half a dozen Texas Meyers Lemon trees in my back yard here in Lufkin, Texas and found 2 green pecan sized lemons, it's been 4 months and I water them each evening. Hopefully I'll get to eat some home grown Meyers Lemon this first year.
Hi Mark, Love your detailed review of Citron! I've never seen such a great comparison with other citrus trees and fruits. So nice if I want to grow in my own backyard or just buy in the market to use. Just love the information you provide on your channel! Thanks so much!
@@smason4794 no I don't sadly. I had ordered some seeds but never received them. Do you grow them? They look so delicious! I can picture making a fruit salad and adding the finger lime caviar as a bonus on top!!
These grow a lot in Italy. The pith is used in salads, grilled, as jams or candied. Some ppl have described the pith to be lightly floral and lemony. The whole fruit is used. Some even use it in their limoncello recipes. I have never personally gotten a chance to eat it, (so lucky you!!!) But they are grown mostly for that pith and because they are so decorative as a tree… ENJOY!!!!
Awesome video, I don't have the room to grow this right now, but I just wanted to let you know your channel inspired me to start a little vegetable garden in my family's yard, so far I've grown Romain lettuce (which I've allowed to flower which looks so cool) carrots and sweet peppers although those haven't fruited yet. Anyways keep up the good work man👍
Hi Mark, Thanks for the interesting videos, I learn a lot from your channel. For your information, in Judaism, Citius (Etrog) has a special status. On the Sukkot holiday there is a special blessing upon which every Jew should bless. The seller of a good Etrog in Israel before the Sukkot holiday starts from 15 dollars for one fruit and can reach, if the fruit is "beautiful", even to 100 dollars and more (again for 1 fruit!). And also in Yemen this fruit is very common and they have varieties whose fruits can reach the size of a basketball!
Hi Mark! I like to watch The Positano Diaries and they have a beautiful garden with very large lemons similar to the Citron. They cut it open and just the same…very little flesh and lots of pith. However, they said the pith is great cut up In salads and tastes similar to apple! You might try it! Love watching your channel and I am learning so much! Blessings, Michelle
I was going to mention that as well. Nicki from The Positano Diaries has a lot of information about them. They are ever where over there. She has massive trees in her yard. They do get huge.
@12:12 You DO NOT want to use citron as rootstock simply because the plant stem is weak & they die our rather quickly. Citron plants have a short life-span. I am saying this by experience as we have been growing Citrons in Bharat (India) for generations. You would want to stick to the tried & tested rootstocks of sour orange or trifoliate citrus or any other wild variety for grafting purpose. In fact, you can have a Citron scion grafted on to a trifoliate orange rootstock & make it last a long time! 😃
Thank you Mark, I am growing the Maxima variety of the Citrus medica (Citron). It produces big fruits which shine on tree like some lights at night. They do not contain much of juice, but one can make a tasty marmalade out of it.
Doug, please let me know if you ever sell seed of this tree. I read about a ciron called Buddha 's hand, with similar characteristics. It's also used for baking and marmalade, which I love.
Hi Mark - I just wanted to mention that when I was in Jamaica, I toured a plantation and they had giant lemon trees. The lemons looked like lemons (in shape) but were about 4x the size of a regular lemon. When you cut into it, the pith was probably an inch thick all around. We made fresh lemonade with it and from fresh sugar cane juice. Anyway, when I saw your citron it reminded me of that species. Yours is interesting and has the fruit in one end similar to a butternut squash. Cool stuff and love your videos. Thank you!
Candied citron is wonderful in baked goods. The thick pith and skin is the desirable part. Like other candied citrus peel, cut the skin into strips or cubes, boil it in a couple changes of water to reduce the bitterness, and then boil it until it goes translucent in a sugar syrup and dry it. It can be quite expensive where I live.
As other people have mentioned this is an Etrog and at Sukkot we use it as part of the holiday. One thing you might consider is talking to your local Jewish community and selling the Etrog to them. Good quality Etrogs can fetch a fair penny
Thanks Mark! Good review of the citron fruit. I kept saying, “ Get a cutting board, Please!” Glad your cutting skills are better than mine. Beautiful fruit. Would you need to prop up branches when the tree gets loaded with fruit ( since you commented how heavy the one was)?
There's something deeply satisfying about finding something growing in a hedgerow or otherwise wild, taking a little cutting or a seed, and growing it at home. This comes through in the video watching it gives a touch of that warm feeling when you bake a 3 day loaf of bread and because it's so nice the family eats the whole bloody loaf in one meal 45 min after it came out of the oven
We use the piph of the citron to make a a sweet preserve. And here in Florida graph oranges to biter orange trees because they process the nutrients better
Hi Mark! I live in Israel, these fruit are called Etrog around here, and have a traditional religious use around this time. There is a huge selection of these for the coming autumn holidays, with "Yemeni" "Iraqi" and other cultivars available, and they are highly valuable, having specialized auctions, with a single fruit in a special protective case against bruising, passing some "beauty standards" (shape, especially the tip) fetching up to 200-250NIS (3.5 worth one USD)in the right timing, with "bad" specimens still fetching 3-10 USD a piece. It is one of the "four species" used in the Sukkot festive days, and they are brought into the Sukah, a tabernacle erected for the festivity, in which guests are welcomed, as an analogy to four types of people you encounter in life, with the Citron being an analogy for the better of the four, having both taste (wisdom) and smell (good deeds). Beyond being very good as a marmalade, i encountered a really good infusion of Citron zest and Khat leaves sold by a rather famous (now, sadly, deceased) vendor from the yemeni jewish diaspora, as cold smoothy in the Jerusalem market, it was tasty and very refreshing, i don't know if Khat cultivation is legal in AU, but if it is, you should try it someday.
Love your channel! Never seen the interesting fruit. Looks like a lemon married a pear! Lol 😂 Also it seems to need more time on the tree. Thank you for sharing ❣️
Hi Mark, Thank you for another amazing video. There are many varieties of Citron, here in Israel we call it Etrog. the Etrog is a traditional fruit that is used in religious ceremony once a year. You may be interested to know among all varieties, there is one being claimed as the ORIGINAL Etrog. This original species are a pain to grow, it produces only few fruits and not every year, it attracts bugs and insects, and sometimes it get sick. but once it brings a fruit it taste AMAZING. the fruit of the original Etrog, contain meat only its a bit sweet and have a rare and special taste. not for nothing this fruit got a very special value in the ancient times because of its qualities. the many varieties were produced with lemon tree mixtures to overcome the tree Disadvantages, but it also took his tase with it.. Within the original Etrog, there should be NO fruit section, only sweet meat.
Mark you are awesome. I love your videos they have taught me so much, I'm about an hour south of Townsville so your videos are my go to. Just pulled out the old over grown ground garden and about to set up some roof sheeting above ground gardens. Thanks for making me laugh every time I watch your videos, the best garden You Tuber ever :)
You can also try to eat the meaty white part of this fruit, this fruit is named sidra in Northern Mexico but's way bigger like small melon, but shape's rounded .. Congrats for your channel!
In the 50's we ate it as a conserve. Cooked like stewed prunes but with more sugar. I've been searching for them for years. Candied Citron was used in Christmas cake. The pith and rind are sliced thinly to cook. You don't separate them from the flesh.
This would make a great marmalade You would not need as many just for the size of it. I am growing a Meyers Lemon tree in a pot it has produced 6 beautiful very large size lemons the first year My feeding it powered milk I believe has helped. Now this Citrus is interesting. I wouldn’t mind having to go out growing that one in a pot. I wonder if it would grow in America? Finger limes are very good also I sell mine to a restaurant for good money. I just got my second tree and potted it. The only problems I have had were the deer eating the leaves I just moved them into a closed in porch on the South side of the house. Still doing good. Blessings 🌹♥️🙏
Actually it’s available in our region(middle east) and it’s well known fruit, people makes jam out of it. In our local language we call it trenee ترني or (very hard word😂) شخاخ Thanks Mark for sharing
Hi, it looks like a Ponderosa lemon. I live in Thailand and have grown them here. Easy to propagate from seed and cuttings. Tastes just like a normal lemon.
We have a Ponderosa lemon. It is very big and mottled on the outside like the Citron. It is very seedy on the inside. The flavor is mild. We like it for lemonade. The citres calked Pomello is like the Citron with the very thick skin and not as strong flavored as the grapefruit.
Candied Citron was one of two secrets my Mom put in her fruit cake at Christmas (the other was loose pulp from tangerine). It was amazing. The wonderful old girl made it to her mid 90's. Thanks for sparking great memories. She could do marvels with Quince too. Mark, you talk about gardening, ducks, weather; mostly you remind us that one's greatest investment is in your Home, not the house!
My first thought was how much Pectin is in citron. Googling, Citron has almost twice as much Pectin as lemon. Pectin being the thickener for jam/jelly. My second thought was candied citron is in fruitcake and easy to candy! I don't know how much free time you have to play in Citron preservation, but you have a rather handy pectin source with that tree! Older canning cookbooks always use lemon or apple in recipes (before pectin came in a handy box/bottle). Love your channel! Because of you, I grow and eat Luffas because powdery mildew only allows me about 6 weeks to grow/harvest summer squash and zucchini in Houston. Thanks for that!
The taste your describing reminds me of a pomello and they have a really thick pith also. Your just making my mouth water. Also makes me think of a lemonade lemon.
Good show Mark. I always thought the big attraction of citron was the pith and the peel, not the flesh. As you would be aware root stock growth produces a similar fruit. Cheers.
What a great verbal description of what this tastes like Mark. 🤩👏👏👏👍 Fascinating result in my opinion. Well done on your patience for this to become ripe. 😋 I'd have pulled it after a few weeks. Kind regards from Paulo & Kath GB 👍
If you're interested in making marmalade there's a sour orange called "Seville". Only the smooth skinned variety seems to be regularly available in Australia, though after searching some forums (daleys) I managed to source some seeds that are claimed to be from the rough skinned variety. They seedlings are still too small to produce fruit, so it will be an interesting to see what happens over the next few years. Might be one to keep an eye out for yourself.
Hey Mark, we love your channel and learn so much whilst being entertained 😃… so thank you! I was wondering if you have any paw paw trees growing on your property that you could do a segment on?
Im Jewish and we use etrogs, a type of citron, for our holiday of sukkot (sue - kote). From my experience with those that had a TON of flesh compared to etrogs. The way etrogs smell reminds me of the taste of starfruit (er rather visa versa since I have used etrogs my whole life and only recently had starfruit). Thanks always for the awesome videos mark!
Very cool. I see them sometimes for Sale here in Arizona in the US. Though Citron has never appealed to me like it has with other Fruit Tree finatics, I always love seeing different morphs & varieties ! Great Video (as always) !!
I have seen trees labeled Citron being sold in stores. I read up on them and mostly they are used for cooking, which I did think was interesting. If they are similar to lemons, you can use them to infuse water. My husband uses most of our lemons to flavor his water. We leave the lemons on the tree for a long time (8 months?) and just pick one when he needs a new one for his water. The Citron sounds like maybe, for my husband, it would work the same way. I also make a lemon curd. It sounds like the citron could also work that way. As well as a flavoring for fish or chicken maybe, either just the juice or entire slices of fruit.
Hey mark, you should candy that thick skin, cut it in sticks afterwards and cover it with 70-85% chocolate. It's flavorful and balanced in sweetness (I tend to go on the 85% side of chocolate and cover only half of the stick in its longitudinal).
Hi Mark, great video as always, and you may not have known but citrons created lemons! A long time ago, people cross breeded citrons with oranges and lemons were created. Have a great day, and happy gardening!
We have a small, wild orange in Louisiana USA called the trifoliate orange. It's almost edible, but not quite. It makes a large, healthy bush with gigantic thorns like the Japanese tree in your video. I think the trifoliate was used for rootstock for other oranges and got out in the wild.
Enjoying looking at Queensland winter foilage, or lack thereof. Looks like things have dried out for you - finally. The ground sounds crunchy. Anyway, just checking in, thought I'd say hi. Cheers!
Hi Mark, Do the roos ever hop the fence and destroy any of your plants? Love it when you show local wildlife. Not something we see in the US! Thanks for the vid!
Well! When I saw and heard you talking about the 'citron", I was reminded of the shape of the Citreon car which Americans pronounce "citron". And I can just see it in yellow!
I am originally from California and we were told it was one of the two fruit used to hybrid the grapefruit. the other fruit was a Pumelo. We used to be the big producer of citrus in the world. Now it is just a historical nicety.
There is no way in the world I could grow half your veggies and fruit here in the Great White North, however I love all your videos. Thanks for great content.
My pleasure Mark. Of the two trees I gave you one was a seedling and the other was a sucker or runner. Your fruit has grown a lot bigger than the ones I have here but similar to the ones still growing at the farm. Mine had more fruit and less pith. They are amazingly tough as the cows do get to graze on them despite the fencing we have added. I'm now retired and made some marmalade myself (OK with Lynn telling me what to do) which was not too bad for a first attempt. (Needed to add Fowlers Jamsetta to get it to set). One citron really perfumes our house when I have picked one. A friend described the taste of the marmalade as "It tastes like it smells." Apparently monks used to use it to perfume their robes. They are related to Budda's Hands fruit apparently.
Thankyou for providing Mark, and by proxy, this whole community, the opportunity to learn about this unique fruit.
Hey Doug and Lynn! I'm glad you saw this video - cool... So one was also a sucker, hey. Interesting! I planted the other one in an area that is now bushed out with pigeon pea plants - I'll have to check and see if it has survived being shaded out. Like I said in the video, I really like this fruit, and I can see us using it heaps. Just brainstorming now, I reckon the rind would flavour a traditional lemon and olive oil Italian pasta beautifully! Anyway, thanks again mate and all the best in retirement too. Cheers :)
@@Selfsufficientme Yeah the rind is amazing. I think the pith makes marmalade bitter though. It’s an odd plant sending out suckers like it does. I’ve grown a pile of ginger and made some ginger marmalade but want to try a ginger and citron one. I gave a seedling citron to a friend and she has had a few fruit already too and the tree is not that old. The barb wire is working well at the farm and keeping the cows out and all the rain this year produced a great crop. I’m really happy to be able to spread this special citrus variety around.
BTW
This fruit is widely used in the Orthodox Jew Community at "sucot" holiday. The name of it in Hebrew is "Etrog" and has a link to the Bible starting at the period of Moses.
In Israel there's a lot of varieties of this fruit going from lemon size to melon size. And there are some varieties that don't have juice at all inside of them just seeds covered by only white material shell ( forgot the name)
And it's not one of the rarest although it's one of the ancients... oldest... one of five strains that started the citrus family tree.
for example, lemon, is a mix of Citron and lime-K
Hey Mark, I grew up in the middle of an orange grove. From my Pappy- the pith is the tell-tell of the weather. If you have excellent growing conditions, the pith is thin and the fruit is sweeter. A early cold snap, or excessive rain, when they set their fruits.. 🤔..OH, well that thickens up the pith to protect the fruit. So, considering you had a massive wet season, the pith is right on target. It protected it's seeds. Next year, if conditions are perfect, you will have different fruits. Now, citrus loves chicken poop.. Pappy never-ever used anything on his trees, but that- once a year. His oranges were prized in our area.
Thanks for sharing this! It is so interesting and after your story, it makes a lot of sense!! Who knew?? Thanks! Happy gardening!!!
Thank you for this info ... we had a grapefruit tree that would get super thick pith and we didn't know what the cause was..
Could be a variety aspect though. In Italy they grow lemons for limoncello that don't have a lot of the juicy middle
Hey K.P. That was a very interesting comment you posted and the information PRICELESS! I will draw from yours and Pappy’s advice and knowledge - I have always wondered why the skin got so thick on my lemons and now I know - Will definitely be spreading the chicken poop love around. God bless and greetings from Sydney Australia. 🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋💗🙏☮️🐨🇦🇺🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋
What time of year did he add it? I have chicken poo and wood shavings building up over winter in the coup.
During Sukkot, the Jewish people use this fruit, which they call an etrog.
Together with the lulav, hadass, and aravah, the etrog is taken in hand and held or waved during specific portions of the holiday prayers.
Sounds nutty.
Thank you! I've always wondered what an etrog was! :-)
They can cost around$50 each the high quality ones
Fortunately the entire world is turning anti-semite however.
It has not be a hybrid
Hi Mark,
Citron makes wonderful marmalade.
Juice made from Citron is very refreshing on a cold day with some ice.
Also the oil from the skin is use to make insect repellent ( spray , candles ) or just the good old Citronella oil to burn outdoors .
. . . . .and thanks to Doug we can now see a video of this fruit .
oftenthey may also have antifungical etc.. properties so you may use them as part of topsoil to reduce fungal growth and act as insect repellant.
Citron tea, which is basically a marmalade you serve by diluting with hot water, is one of the most soothing things for a sore throat.
citron fruit, citronella, i never made that connection haha
@@Alexander_Alexander 😂 I'm glad I'm not alone! Tbh,I'd never heard of a "citron" fruit before! Ya learn something new everyday!🥰
Citronella oil is from Citronella grass, which is not related to citrus in any way, but it smells like citrus. Its also called lemon grass.
Hi Mark! Thank you for this interesting video. We have Citron in my country (especially in northern Iran). We call it بالنگ [balang]. They use it to make a wonderful marmalade witch tastes and smells amazing.
See you soon in your next video !😊
Hope all is going well Mark! You always put smiles on our faces with your cheery attitude and awesome spirit, thanks a ton
Uuuuuh, don't throw away the pith! It's really great candied and diced, you can use it in all kind of cakes, Christmas pudding, or just as a treat. It's really easy to candy, just boil small cubes for about 20 minutes in a strong sugar sirup, then let them dry on a cookie sheet. Thanks for a great video (and might i suggest you start selling the seeds?)
Perhaps that is the citron I remember using in fruit cakes many years ago!
Right, Buddha's 👏 is all pith there's no flesh at all.
I blanch my peel a few times to reduce the bitterness before candying it. Either way it's a brilliant suggestion!
Do you mean the peel or the pith? We've candied peels before, but never just cubes of the white pith. Doesn't sound like it has a lot of taste?
@@andrewjmesser Yes the candied pith looses it's bitterness & just tastes sweet & pungent much like candied peel.
I would peel the skin, dehydrate it and powder it and use it as a seasoning. And I would be interested in a lemon marmalade using that. Love your channel. Thanks for sharing.
Ya thats a good suggestion b/c of the amount u cud get. And after drying itd take a very good palette ro taste the diff
Oh I love this idea! Definitely going to remember that one
The white is bitter and the yellow (exterior skin) is perfect to zest, very fragrant and delicious in marinades. Don't use the white part of the pith.
The citron, along with the myrtle, willow and date palm are the "four species" of plants used in Israel for the traditional celebration of Sukkot, an autumn Jewish holiday. There is a beautiful film including this tradition called 'Ushpizin', or "The Guests". It is subtitled in English. Highly recommended and family friendly. Thanks, Mark, for another great video!
We usually call them etrog. His however looks to possibly be some sort of hybrid. A Buddha Hand is another variety of citron.
Hi Mark I love watching your videos. I'm 49 and growing things has become so peaceful for me. I live in New York and I have a small area for a garden. Your tips have been awesome in helping producing a lot with a small space. This was a great video ! I found myself wishing I could grow that tree in my yard, but alas its too cold here. Wow , you tasting that fruit was great. It sounds amazing. I'm also a Army veteran and US Coast guard, thank you for service. We vets love our Aussie Brothers and sisters. Cheers.
Well...this explains what I had in my backyard when I had my house in Stockton, CA. A Citron-of unknown variety. They were HUGE. Larger than the one you cut and had maybe a walnut sized fruit area inside. Maybe smaller even. Never ate one in the 9 yrs I lived there as I didn't know what it was (and wasn't into gardening back then...). It also had HUGE massive thorns that if you didn't watch out mowing the lawn....you'd get one in the backside!
When he said "Citron" I was looking for those thorns! Parents had a tree in Honolulu, HI. Got snagged by it many times. We never researched on how to use it. My grandfather would flavor water with slices, and it was still so tart and sour for us kids.
You should see the thorns on the bitter, but intensely fragrant, Dragon Orange (Poncirus trifoliata). They are often over 2 inches long and sharp as needles at the tips. Dragon Orange is the most cold-tolerant of any citrus relatives, having evolved in Mongolia. Some are capable of surviving temps down to -20F!
Candied citron is my favorite Christmas cake addition. I really makes a good fruitcake-type addition. I think that must be why it's grown. But candied citron tends to be expensive here in the US!
Mark, your citron reminds me of a Diamante citron. Diamante citrons taper to an end like yours, though not always to the same degree. Diamante citrons are known for having thick, firm piths with juice that is not as acidic as lemons usually are. Your tree does not have all the hallmarks of a Diamante citron, since yours is not thorny like the Diamante, but variations can be expected with seed grown fruit several generations removed from its original parentage. Diamante was the main citron variety in the Italian region of Calabria, where it is known as Cedro di Diamante. If the Mary River area around Gympie had Italian settlers, they could have brought it with them from the old country.
Like other commenters have indicated, the pith is quite useful candied and should not be discarded. You can also make traditional succade from the pith, which seems like just the type of project you would love to do and document on the channel.
Another great video Mark I've discovered so many great food ideas from you. I remember the year I bought a batch of homemade candied citron at a church fair. No one knew what it was and it wasn't selling. I bought the lot and made the best fruit cakes ever that year with it. Even people who said they hated fruit cake liked it. I never was able to recreate it but now I know what to do.
Hi Mark, love your videos. The citron is used in quite a few different ways... the juice and rind can be used for marmelade and the pith is perfect for candying. In my opinion the pith of the citron is less bitter than the pith of of other citrus fruits (even a bit sweet, unless you get too close to the part you would normally use as peel) and can also be used as a thickening agent. In southern europe the citron is eaten like a carpaccio (whole fruite sliced very thin and seasoned with salt, pepper, basil and olive oil). I very much reccomend trying it at least once.
Hi Mark ,you certainly run very interesting videos. The Citron is a very old citrus tree in Iraq and many families have this tree in their back yard gardens . It is called " ATRANG " in Iraqi spoken slang but it is also the name used in classical Arabic. Marmalade made from the outside part of Atrang without the soft part in the middle is very tasty and popular in Iraq specially in Baghdad.
@pradodude5368
Does ATRANG have very few thorns like Mark showed this variety to have ?
Thanks Mark and Doug Roach for this informative experience. I planted half a dozen Texas Meyers Lemon trees in my back yard here in Lufkin, Texas and found 2 green pecan sized lemons, it's been 4 months and I water them each evening. Hopefully I'll get to eat some home grown Meyers Lemon this first year.
I was searching the internet for someone to make a video about the Citron for soooo long! Thank you!
Hi Mark,
Love your detailed review of Citron! I've never seen such a great comparison with other citrus trees and fruits. So nice if I want to grow in my own backyard or just buy in the market to use. Just love the information you provide on your channel! Thanks so much!
It's no wonder that citron rind is candied for using in fruitcakes and panettones and such! That's a gracious plenty for it!
I love your content mark. I'd love to get a seed of this one day. cheers from Florida my friend
I'm with you on this, too! That and the finger lines. Love our growing season here in Florida being nearly all year!!
@@mickeygoad5658 do you have finger limes??
I heard that they are trying to get rid of the Mayer lemon in Fl, is that true? Why?🙏🏻
@@smason4794 no I don't sadly. I had ordered some seeds but never received them. Do you grow them? They look so delicious! I can picture making a fruit salad and adding the finger lime caviar as a bonus on top!!
@@jackietoth7109 I hadn't heard that, I'll have to have look into that. Fingers crossed that's not the case!
Yummm love citron. Am fairly certain we have one in our garden up at Mt Mee. Citrus do so well in the area. Hanging for my yuzu to fruit as well.
These grow a lot in Italy. The pith is used in salads, grilled, as jams or candied. Some ppl have described the pith to be lightly floral and lemony. The whole fruit is used. Some even use it in their limoncello recipes. I have never personally gotten a chance to eat it, (so lucky you!!!) But they are grown mostly for that pith and because they are so decorative as a tree… ENJOY!!!!
Awesome video, I don't have the room to grow this right now, but I just wanted to let you know your channel inspired me to start a little vegetable garden in my family's yard, so far I've grown Romain lettuce (which I've allowed to flower which looks so cool) carrots and sweet peppers although those haven't fruited yet. Anyways keep up the good work man👍
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the interesting videos, I learn a lot from your channel.
For your information, in Judaism, Citius (Etrog) has a special status. On the Sukkot holiday there is a special blessing upon which every Jew should bless. The seller of a good Etrog in Israel before the Sukkot holiday starts from 15 dollars for one fruit and can reach, if the fruit is "beautiful", even to 100 dollars and more (again for 1 fruit!). And also in Yemen this fruit is very common and they have varieties whose fruits can reach the size of a basketball!
Love your channel, in Mexico we add this type of citron to flavor tequila in the alcohol making process. But it's common here.
Every time you say, "Let's get into it!", I say it out loud along with you. 😂
This is one of my favorite channels!
Hi Mark! I like to watch The Positano Diaries and they have a beautiful garden with very large lemons similar to the Citron. They cut it open and just the same…very little flesh and lots of pith. However, they said the pith is great cut up
In salads and tastes similar to apple! You might try it! Love watching your channel and I am learning so much! Blessings, Michelle
I was going to mention that as well. Nicki from The Positano Diaries has a lot of information about them. They are ever where over there. She has massive trees in her yard. They do get huge.
@12:12 You DO NOT want to use citron as rootstock simply because the plant stem is weak & they die our rather quickly. Citron plants have a short life-span. I am saying this by experience as we have been growing Citrons in Bharat (India) for generations. You would want to stick to the tried & tested rootstocks of sour orange or trifoliate citrus or any other wild variety for grafting purpose. In fact, you can have a Citron scion grafted on to a trifoliate orange rootstock & make it last a long time! 😃
Thank you Mark, I am growing the Maxima variety of the Citrus medica (Citron). It produces big fruits which shine on tree like some lights at night. They do not contain much of juice, but one can make a tasty marmalade out of it.
Hello Mark, another GREAT video, educating us on unique fruit! Thank you! This Citron sounds similar to Italian Citron Ice, delish!
I love lemon oil so they look like would be great for zest too. My favourite citrus is a pomelo. Lots of work too but so worth it.
Nice crop! 👍👍
I'm glad to see the trees doing well 👍👍
Any content around grafting would be welcome!
Doug, please let me know if you ever sell seed of this tree. I read about a ciron called Buddha 's hand, with similar characteristics. It's also used for baking and marmalade, which I love.
I'm from Gympie 30+ years now and I have not seen this....but am SO glad you did a video of it. I'll be on the hunt for one now.
Hi Mark - I just wanted to mention that when I was in Jamaica, I toured a plantation and they had giant lemon trees. The lemons looked like lemons (in shape) but were about 4x the size of a regular lemon. When you cut into it, the pith was probably an inch thick all around. We made fresh lemonade with it and from fresh sugar cane juice.
Anyway, when I saw your citron it reminded me of that species. Yours is interesting and has the fruit in one end similar to a butternut squash.
Cool stuff and love your videos.
Thank you!
Candied citron is wonderful in baked goods. The thick pith and skin is the desirable part. Like other candied citrus peel, cut the skin into strips or cubes, boil it in a couple changes of water to reduce the bitterness, and then boil it until it goes translucent in a sugar syrup and dry it. It can be quite expensive where I live.
As other people have mentioned this is an Etrog and at Sukkot we use it as part of the holiday.
One thing you might consider is talking to your local Jewish community and selling the Etrog to them.
Good quality Etrogs can fetch a fair penny
U might want to grow Bergamot citrus too. It's oil flavors Earl Grey tea. Smells wonderful!
Thanks Mark! Good review of the citron fruit. I kept saying, “ Get a cutting board, Please!” Glad your cutting skills are better than mine. Beautiful fruit. Would you need to prop up branches when the tree gets loaded with fruit ( since you commented how heavy the one was)?
There's something deeply satisfying about finding something growing in a hedgerow or otherwise wild, taking a little cutting or a seed, and growing it at home. This comes through in the video
watching it gives a touch of that warm feeling when you bake a 3 day loaf of bread and because it's so nice the family eats the whole bloody loaf in one meal 45 min after it came out of the oven
We use the piph of the citron to make a a sweet preserve. And here in Florida graph oranges to biter orange trees because they process the nutrients better
Hi Mark!
I live in Israel, these fruit are called Etrog around here, and have a traditional religious use around this time.
There is a huge selection of these for the coming autumn holidays, with "Yemeni" "Iraqi" and other cultivars available, and they are highly valuable, having specialized auctions, with a single fruit in a special protective case against bruising, passing some "beauty standards" (shape, especially the tip) fetching up to 200-250NIS (3.5 worth one USD)in the right timing, with "bad" specimens still fetching 3-10 USD a piece.
It is one of the "four species" used in the Sukkot festive days, and they are brought into the Sukah, a tabernacle erected for the festivity, in which guests are welcomed, as an analogy to four types of people you encounter in life, with the Citron being an analogy for the better of the four, having both taste (wisdom) and smell (good deeds).
Beyond being very good as a marmalade, i encountered a really good infusion of Citron zest and Khat leaves sold by a rather famous (now, sadly, deceased) vendor from the yemeni jewish diaspora, as cold smoothy in the Jerusalem market, it was tasty and very refreshing, i don't know if Khat cultivation is legal in AU, but if it is, you should try it someday.
Gympie?? I spent a few days there in 1996! Don’t hear anyone talk about it. One of my favorite places.
Great sized citrus!! Thank you for sharing 😊
We have a lot of those in our home in Bukidnon, Philippines! We make them into candied peel and they make an amazing limoncello!
Really lovely video, thank you & thanks Doug & wife💗
Love your channel!
Never seen the interesting fruit. Looks like a lemon married a pear! Lol 😂 Also it seems to need more time on the tree.
Thank you for sharing ❣️
It reminded me of a pear also!
Hi Mark, Thank you for another amazing video. There are many varieties of Citron, here in Israel we call it Etrog. the Etrog is a traditional fruit that is used in religious ceremony once a year. You may be interested to know among all varieties, there is one being claimed as the ORIGINAL Etrog. This original species are a pain to grow, it produces only few fruits and not every year, it attracts bugs and insects, and sometimes it get sick. but once it brings a fruit it taste AMAZING. the fruit of the original Etrog, contain meat only its a bit sweet and have a rare and special taste. not for nothing this fruit got a very special value in the ancient times because of its qualities. the many varieties were produced with lemon tree mixtures to overcome the tree Disadvantages, but it also took his tase with it.. Within the original Etrog, there should be NO fruit section, only sweet meat.
I absolutely love your "get into it" pioneer spirit!!
We use only the citron for our holiday of Sukot. We hang citron in our Sukah and it smells like lemons.
Thanks Mark, I enjoy ALL your videos~ Sending Blessings to All~
Mark you are awesome. I love your videos they have taught me so much, I'm about an hour south of Townsville so your videos are my go to. Just pulled out the old over grown ground garden and about to set up some roof sheeting above ground gardens. Thanks for making me laugh every time I watch your videos, the best garden You Tuber ever :)
Hi Mark, we love your Channel. Do you grow Lemonade trees? They are the bomb! Beau and Narelle
Your show is education-plus- therapy .
LOVE IT.
GRATITUDE 🙏🙏🙏
You can also try to eat the meaty white part of this fruit, this fruit is named sidra in Northern Mexico but's way bigger like small melon, but shape's rounded ..
Congrats for your channel!
Citron is mentioned in the Bible! That’s pretty cool!
and the bitter round lemon we eat with fish curry.its cooked with the fish it's beautiful
Ohh Mark, my mouth was watering like a river when you were cutting it open and tasting it.😅😅😅😂😂
Funny, that you were trying to get to the juicy bits. This fruit is typically grown for the pith, the pith eaten like an apple or candied.
Wow a new fan from England very informative and interesting 👏
In the 50's we ate it as a conserve. Cooked like stewed prunes but with more sugar. I've been searching for them for years. Candied Citron was used in Christmas cake. The pith and rind are sliced thinly to cook. You don't separate them from the flesh.
This would make a great marmalade You would not need as many just for the size of it. I am growing a Meyers Lemon tree in a pot it has produced 6 beautiful very large size lemons the first year My feeding it powered milk I believe has helped. Now this Citrus is interesting. I wouldn’t mind having to go out growing that one in a pot. I wonder if it would grow in America? Finger limes are very good also I sell mine to a restaurant for good money. I just got my second tree and potted it. The only problems I have had were the deer eating the leaves I just moved them into a closed in porch on the South side of the house. Still doing good. Blessings 🌹♥️🙏
@@chrisgartenn calcium? I guess it's like bone meal.
Hey Mark,
I have studied fruit for years and I would say it's likely "Etrog" citron origin.
Actually it’s available in our region(middle east) and it’s well known fruit, people makes jam out of it. In our local language we call it trenee ترني or (very hard word😂) شخاخ
Thanks Mark for sharing
Yeah id guess thats where thry were firt developed. Yemen for example has some famous verities that have been grown there for a very long time
Good Day Mark. Never heard of a Cintron before here in Florida. I always love your content.
Hi, it looks like a Ponderosa lemon. I live in Thailand and have grown them here. Easy to propagate from seed and cuttings. Tastes just like a normal lemon.
We have a Ponderosa lemon. It is very big and mottled on the outside like the Citron. It is very seedy on the inside. The flavor is mild. We like it for lemonade.
The citres calked Pomello is like the Citron with the very thick skin and not as strong flavored as the grapefruit.
I hv not heard of a citron before so very interesting to watch your video and read all the comments regarding this fruit!
U have the nicest warmest intro 2 ur videos,always makes me happy
Candied Citron was one of two secrets my Mom put in her fruit cake at Christmas (the other was loose pulp from tangerine). It was amazing. The wonderful old girl made it to her mid 90's. Thanks for sparking great memories.
She could do marvels with Quince too. Mark, you talk about gardening, ducks, weather; mostly you remind us that one's greatest investment is in your Home, not the house!
My first thought was how much Pectin is in citron. Googling, Citron has almost twice as much Pectin as lemon. Pectin being the thickener for jam/jelly. My second thought was candied citron is in fruitcake and easy to candy!
I don't know how much free time you have to play in Citron preservation, but you have a rather handy pectin source with that tree! Older canning cookbooks always use lemon or apple in recipes (before pectin came in a handy box/bottle).
Love your channel! Because of you, I grow and eat Luffas because powdery mildew only allows me about 6 weeks to grow/harvest summer squash and zucchini in Houston. Thanks for that!
Gosh I adore your videos. They’re so friendly and informative and I always feel better afterwards. Thank you.
The taste your describing reminds me of a pomello and they have a really thick pith also. Your just making my mouth water. Also makes me think of a lemonade lemon.
Good show Mark. I always thought the big attraction of citron was the pith and the peel, not the flesh. As you would be aware root stock growth produces a similar fruit. Cheers.
What a great verbal description of what this tastes like Mark. 🤩👏👏👏👍
Fascinating result in my opinion. Well done on your patience for this to become ripe. 😋
I'd have pulled it after a few weeks.
Kind regards from Paulo & Kath GB 👍
This is an Etrog, one of the symbolic items you must have in a Sukkah, festival of the tabernacle
Why?
it's a plant that originated in China
beloved your jamaican uk girl here...love your channel been watching and sharing for years
If you're interested in making marmalade there's a sour orange called "Seville". Only the smooth skinned variety seems to be regularly available in Australia, though after searching some forums (daleys) I managed to source some seeds that are claimed to be from the rough skinned variety. They seedlings are still too small to produce fruit, so it will be an interesting to see what happens over the next few years. Might be one to keep an eye out for yourself.
Hey Mark, we love your channel and learn so much whilst being entertained 😃… so thank you! I was wondering if you have any paw paw trees growing on your property that you could do a segment on?
Im Jewish and we use etrogs, a type of citron, for our holiday of sukkot (sue - kote). From my experience with those that had a TON of flesh compared to etrogs. The way etrogs smell reminds me of the taste of starfruit (er rather visa versa since I have used etrogs my whole life and only recently had starfruit). Thanks always for the awesome videos mark!
Very cool. I see them sometimes for Sale here in Arizona in the US. Though Citron has never appealed to me like it has with other Fruit Tree finatics, I always love seeing different morphs & varieties ! Great Video (as always) !!
Very good to see you. Thanks for sharing.
I have seen trees labeled Citron being sold in stores. I read up on them and mostly they are used for cooking, which I did think was interesting. If they are similar to lemons, you can use them to infuse water. My husband uses most of our lemons to flavor his water. We leave the lemons on the tree for a long time (8 months?) and just pick one when he needs a new one for his water. The Citron sounds like maybe, for my husband, it would work the same way. I also make a lemon curd. It sounds like the citron could also work that way. As well as a flavoring for fish or chicken maybe, either just the juice or entire slices of fruit.
Hello Mark ! I love your videos, very informative and entertaining ! Thank you for the tips !
Interesting..you always have good info. I agree with the seed selling bring back an old fruit..im in Florida would love to grow this
Hey mark, you should candy that thick skin, cut it in sticks afterwards and cover it with 70-85% chocolate. It's flavorful and balanced in sweetness (I tend to go on the 85% side of chocolate and cover only half of the stick in its longitudinal).
Hi Mark, great video as always, and you may not have known but citrons created lemons! A long time ago, people cross breeded citrons with oranges and lemons were created. Have a great day, and happy gardening!
We have a small, wild orange in Louisiana USA called the trifoliate orange. It's almost edible, but not quite. It makes a large, healthy bush with gigantic thorns like the Japanese tree in your video. I think the trifoliate was used for rootstock for other oranges and got out in the wild.
Enjoying looking at Queensland winter foilage, or lack thereof. Looks like things have dried out for you - finally. The ground sounds crunchy. Anyway, just checking in, thought I'd say hi. Cheers!
Hi Mark, Do the roos ever hop the fence and destroy any of your plants? Love it when you show local wildlife. Not something we see in the US! Thanks for the vid!
It seems like a great plant for your area as the thick pith would resist those flies that you have to bag to stop.
Well! When I saw and heard you talking about the 'citron", I was reminded of the shape of the Citreon car which Americans pronounce "citron". And I can just see it in yellow!
Awesome review! Thanks Mark. I will be looking for a citron tree for myself now!
We get candied citron for fruitcake ( yes,, we love fruit cake)..never knew it was rare
I am originally from California and we were told it was one of the two fruit used to hybrid the grapefruit. the other fruit was a Pumelo. We used to be the big producer of citrus in the world. Now it is just a historical nicety.
Quite common here in Sicily, we eat JUST the pith with alittle salt sprinkled on it...I also agree to have a look at Nikki Positano.
You are so very lucky to have a citron tree. I’ve always wanted one but never been able to find one. Best of luck with your special tree.
Fascinating presentation! Thanks much, Mark!
I love a good lemon curd, I bet that citron would make a great curd as well.
There is no way in the world I could grow half your veggies and fruit here in the Great White North, however I love all your videos. Thanks for great content.