When I lived in California our local "health food" store carried whole citron. I would buy it by the pound and chop it myself for my fruitcake recipe. They stopped selling it saying there wasn't enough call for it and it would eventualy go bad. It seemed to be preserved in some way, but it was not in that horrible syrup that is in the chopped variety sold in grocery stores.
I would really like to find some. It makes the very best fruit cakes. Do you know a source? Thank you.
- Alisha
Whole citron is indeed wonderful and not to be compared to the sickly stuff in the syrup. One great place to find citron and other preserved fruits is Dairy Fresh Candy. They have whole citron, sold by the pound, for $9.99 a pound.
We've talked about June Taylor, too. She doesn't offer citron, specifically, but she does offer many other small-batch, organic preserved fruits that are always wonderful. You can also find chopped citron in the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalogue for $4.95 for 6 ounces.
Anyone else?
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
I never knew that citron was useful! I used to have a kumquat tree that was grafted onto a citron tree. I wasn't aware it was a graft until one year the citron overtook the kumquats. The citrons were huge, insanely sour, but looked gorgeous sliced up in oil or water in a jar.
Thanks for the information.
You can also get fresh citron by mail, from several sources, including:
http://melissas.com/
and then candy it yourself at home. I make candied citron and keep it in syrup, in the refrigerator, until I need it then drain & use it as is or sugar to serve as a confection (it's especially good tucked inside a fig or date). I also make salted preserved citron, just like the lemons, for use in cooking (Moroccan, etc). So if you're worried about having too much you can always make a salted batch.
Usually around Chinese New Year you'll find fresh citron in local markets all over the U.S. so it's worth asking stores if they plan to order. If not, Melissa's is expensive, but reliable.
etrogs are citron relatives, and at least in the fall (for the jewish holiday of sukkah) they are available, but expensive. (i think it's at least $20)
for sukkah, they are just held and used as a ritual object; so after the holiday is done they are not as useful or valuable. you could probably find some for almost nothing- if you have any observant jewish friends :)
Polcari's Coffee (which is up the street from Dairy Fresh Candy, oddly enough) also sells citron.
http://www.northendboston.com/polcaricoffee/