Lemon Trivia | 60 facts about the fruit

Lemon is a fruit, despite the fact many people believe it is not. It is commonly used in order to cook or even create cocktails, which makes it very… interesting!

Let’s find out more about it!

1. The lemon is also known as Citrus limon.
2. It is a species of small evergreen tree in the flowering plant family Rutaceae.
3. Lemon is native to South Asia.
4. Primarily North eastern India.
5. India is the largest lemon producer in the world.
6. India produces approximately 3 million tons of lemons per year.
7. The top 5 lemon-producing countries are India, Mexico, China, Argentina, and Brazil.
8. The tree’s ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world.
9. It primarily for its juice, which has both culinary and cleaning uses.
10. The pulp and rind are also used in cooking and baking.
11. The juice of the lemon is about 5% to 6% citric acid, with a pH of around 2.2, giving it a sour taste.
12. The distinctive sour taste of lemon juice makes it a key ingredient in drinks and foods such as lemonade and lemon meringue pie.
13. The origin of the lemon is unknown.
14. Though lemons are thought to have first grown in Assam (a region in northeast India), northern Burma or China.
15. A genomic study of the lemon indicated it was a hybrid between bitter orange (sour orange) and citron.
16. Lemons entered Europe near southern Italy no later than the second century AD, during the time of Ancient Rome.
17. However, they were not widely cultivated.
18. They were later introduced to Persia and then to Iraq and Egypt around 700 AD.
19. The lemon was first recorded in literature in a 10th-century Arabic treatise on farming, and was also used as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens.
20. It was distributed widely throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean region between 1000 and 1150.
21. An article on Lemon and lime tree cultivation in Andalusia of Spain is brought down in Ibn al-‘Awwam’s 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture.
22. The first substantial cultivation of lemons in Europe began in Genoa in the middle of the 15th century.
23. The lemon was later introduced to the Americas in 1493.
24. Actually, Christopher Columbus brought lemon seeds to Hispaniola on his voyages.
25. Spanish conquest throughout the New World helped spread lemon seeds.
26. It was mainly used as an ornamental plant and for medicine.
27. In the 19th century, lemons were increasingly planted in Florida and California.
28. In 1747, James Lind’s experiments on seamen suffering from scurvy involved adding lemon juice to their diets, though vitamin C was not yet known as an important dietary ingredient.
29. The origin of the word lemon may be Middle Eastern.
30. The word draws from the Old French limon, then Italian limone, from the Arabic laymūn or līmūn, and from the Persian līmūn.
31. It is a generic term for citrus fruit.
32. Citrus fruit is a cognate of Sanskrit .
33. Lemon is a fruit, and it is misleading to ask if it is a vegetable, despite the fact many people believe so. Technically speaking, a vegetative part of a plant (any part, to be honest) can be called a vegetable. On the other hand, the definition of what fruit is is more precise and specific.
34. Lemons are technically berries.
35. There are 2 types of lemons – Acidic and sweet.
36. Acidic lemons are those that are grown commercially.
37. Sweet lemons are those that are homegrown by gardeners.
38. There are three common lemons which are Bearss, Eureka and Lisbon.
39. The Spanish colonization of the Americas helped spread lemon seeds in 1519. Although Christopher Columbus’ lemon seeds might only be limited to the Hispaniola, they soon reached its neighbouring continents and countries during the Spanish conquest.
40. A lemon tree can live until its 50 years old.
41. But with proper care and maintenance, it can live over 100 years.
42. Young lemon plants have reddish leaves.
43. It is easy to spot a baby lemon tree because of its reddish leaves.
44. As it matures, its leaves become dark-green in colour.
45. Flowering commonly happens in spring.
46. Its whole cycle is the followinf one: Fruiting cycle starts in summer, and then the tree begins to turn from green to yellow in fall or winter.
47. Lemon flowers have a zesty citrus delight.
48. Although lemon flowers are mildly scented, they have an unmissable aroma that is described to be the “happiest smell in the world”.
49. Lemon fruits, however, have a more profound, eccentric citrus scent that you’ll love to sniff!
50. Lemon flowers have 4 or 5 petals that are an inch long.
51. When in full bloom, the buds appear white on the inside and purplish on the outside. Lemon flowers have yellow anthers.
52. Lemon fruits ripen between 4 to 12 months after flowering.
53. One lemon fruit has around 30 calories.Lemons trees can produce up to 600lbs of lemons every year.
54. Lemon trees produce fruit all year round.
55. Lemon tree leaves can be used to make tea.
56. The inner part of the peel called the “mesocarp” or “albedo” is the chief source of commercial grades of pectin.
57. A lemon fruit has on average 8 to 9 segments within itself.
58. Lemons are nature’s best insect repellent.
59. One lemon fruit contains about 51% of your daily recommended vitamin C intake.
60. A 1/2-cup (or 125 ml) of lemon juice per day may help prevent kidney stone formation.