Earlier in the year, I had seen many posts about Meyer lemons. I've never tried them, but they sound really wonderful.The other day while Satoshi and I were shopping, we came across Meyer lemons...from New Zealand! The color of these lemons were a bit orangey not the "lemony" yellow that I'm used to seeing. Even though they were pricey, I wanted to try them.
I zested one of the lemons and kept it aside to make scones. With the juice, I made this refreshing pasta with shrimp, capers, garlic and veggies for our dinner one night.
With the second lemon, I zested it again and used both the juice and zest to make my favorite lemon oregano vinaigrette. Doesn't the lettuce I bought for salad look beautiful? They call it "bouquet" lettuce. The one head comes in this BIG wasteful plastic container so that the fragile leaves don't get bruised (the sad price to pay to have non-bruised lettuce). It was the first time I've seen this type of lettuce in the market and it was love at first sight. Although the price would end the relationship...it was expensive...
Since I still had some cream leftover from making cheesecake (which I'll post about later), I used it to make earl grey scones and added the Meyer lemon zest I had set aside. The aroma of these guys coming out of the oven was heavenly! Of course, I had to taste one as soon as it came out of the oven. Delicious!I was wondering though, are the skins of this variety of lemon softer than regular lemons? They were very easy to juice and zest. Still, I'm happy I was able to try them.
19 comments:
easy to get addicted to them. They can almost be eaten like an orange, no? Just because they are much less acidic than regular lemons.
I have yet to experience a Meyer lemon. They just sound so great! Cool-looking lettuce too, but now I'm curious...how MUCH did they cost? Dollar-wise?
yes they were not as tart as regular lemons, Bea! The next time I see them I will buy more.
Rowena, The lemons were 258 yen (about US$2.58 for two) and the lettuce was also 258 yen same for the lettuce in US$. I don't know how much Meyer lemons cost on US mainland.
Take care you two.
Kat
So glad you found some Meyer lemons! I think the skin is softer - it's smoother too than regular lemons! I love their taste!
Hi Kat! Oh boy, does this post remind me of the extremely high prices of produce in Japan. Well, not all produce but lots. I remember looking around in the grocery section of the department store and was blown away with the price of these grapes, $30 for a small bag! They were nice indeed but boy, I am hesitant to spend over $2 a pound on grapes here in Hawaii! Well, luckily you look like you truly enjoyed your produce and everything looked wonderful :)
You alway amaze me on your food creations. Those scones look ono! When I was in Seattle I got to taste home made Pear Spice jam with freshly baked scones. That was so good! Take care!
Thanks Anita, I hope to see them in the markets next year!
Yes, Kat, produce is quite expensive in Japan. Most of them are perfect though, so you won't be caught with anything bruised or rotten, so it is worth the price!
Thanks Laura, I'm gonna check out your site to see what you encountered in Seattle.
Take care everyone!
Kat
I have meyer lemon envy. I'm not sure I've ever had them though I'm always on the look out for it.
That said, I love the sound of the pasta and Earl Grey scones. I will try and make them the next time we have guests over for afternoon tea. :)
ps. Sorry. I'm flooding your inbox again with comments.
I hope you get to try the earl grey scones, Ilingc. And I hope you'll be able to try Meyer lemons soon!
Take care.
Kat
I sometimes use Meyer lemon as a cheaper, more widely available substitute for yuzu. (Meyer Lemons run about $4/lb in Seattle, whereas I pay about $5-10/lb plus shipping for fresh yuzu on the rare occasions I can track them down).
I like meyer lemons, but I'd rather have the yuzu.
Wow Jason, Meyer lemons are cheaper than yuzu. I like yuzu a lot and am lucky to be able to get it here. Though they don't sell it in bulk, just in ones or twos.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Meyer lemons and for stopping by.
Take care.
Kat
I know this is a really old post, but where did you find the Meyer lemons, and what were they called? Was the name just written in katakana?
I've been looking for some Meyer lemons to make a tart. Where oh where can they be?
I think I bought it from Nissho which is now called Oasis, Rona. It was written in katakana, even New Zealand was written in katakana. After that one time I saw them, I never saw them again. Hope you can find them, you may want to try looking at Seijo Ishii or Daimaru Peacock.
Take care.
Kat
Thanks! No luck at the Umeda Seijo Ishii today, but I only stopped by the little one. I'm going to check out Hankyu Department Store, too. The one near my house has a pretty good selection of less common stuff I love Nishinomiya Gardens!).
Hi Rona,
After typing in my response, I googled on Yahoo Japan and if you type in マイヤーレモン, you'll come across several online shops on Rakuten. Not sure if you want to order a kilo or more but it might be a faster way :)
Good Luck :)
Kat
Thanks again! I looked at some of the shops, and one place that had two kilos for Y2000--am I crazy for thinking this is reasonable? Or perhaps I've just been in Japan too long. . . (that's almost the same thing :-) )
Meyer lemon tarts are hopefully in my future (it's a little out of Meyer lemon season, but hopefully they'll still have some).
LOL Rona, I myself would go for the 2 kilos @ Y2000, (about 5 pounds for $20), not sure what the going price is in the States....
Oh well, hopefully you'll start seeing them in the stores more often.
Take care.
Kat
Me again! I ordered through gurunavi this morning, and within an hour the orchard owner called. Meyer lemon's are out of season, so he said to try again in November! Just a note for anyone else interested in ordering!
I guess I'll jus thave to wait a little longer for my meyer lemon tarts! :-(
Rona,
So glad they were kind enough to call you to let you know it is out of season...November...gotta remember :)
Take care.
Kat
p.s. I recently saw a lemon tart at Antenoir that looked delicious, hope to try it soon :)
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