The Interesting History of MEYER LEMONS - Weird Fruit Explorer

Ep 553. Meyer Lemon & Vilafranca Lemon
Binomial Name: Citrus × meyeri & Citrus x limon
Grown in California, Reviewed in NYC
Kindly donated by the Monterey Bay chapter of The California Rare Fruit Growers.
Learn more about them here: mbcrfg.org/
Find a chapter of CRFG near you here: crfg.org
(please note that this is an organization, not a store. They do not sell fruit, seeds or trees)
Check out The Food Explorer book here: amzn.to/39O9l95
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+ MUSIC:
"Nonstop" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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[@WeirdExplorer]

Comment with your Meyer lemon recipe ideas here!

[@Grimm-Gaming]

Meyer Lemons..... Taste like candy so just eat em!

[@youtube.commentator]

..lemon meringue is pretty awesome

[@kdonsky6]

We had a bunch of myers lemon trees in the neighborhood I grew up in and one of my neighbors would take a bunch of the juice and mix it with sugar and freeze it and then eat it like ice cream.

[@vaughankitchen5358]

Here in NZ meyer lemons are the standard lemon which most people think of when you say "lemon" and are available year round. Yen Bens (Lisbon) lemons only appear for a short 3 month or so season meaning most people don't know what to do with them. The classic recipe for meyey lemons is a lemon slice, for which chelsea sugar has a good recipe. We also have another lemon, mandarin hybrid fruit here called a Lemonade which is much much sweeter and people eat like an Orange. It's only commonly found in the growing regions otherwise lots of people don't know what it is yet and it hasn't made its way around the world either

[@mudgetheexpendable]

Candy the meyer rind with rosemary-infused sugar. Nummy.

[@skylerdickson2939]

That wooden cutting board has seen every type of fruit juice known to the universe

[@mettatonneoex]

The legendary Fruit Board. It will be in a museum

[@mattmarzula]

Overstatement. Still relevant.

[@keywestalert6329]

Tell him to sell it

[@TheLepke2011]

And perhaps some that aren't...

[@cyber_nuggets8302]

This may sound weird, but I wonder what it smells like

[@tomelko]

Lemons may be more fun to watch being consumed (by others) than hot peppers. Entertaining as always, Jared!

[@WeirdExplorer]

Maybe thats the secret to hitting 1 million subscribers. I have to review wedges of sour citrus that have been covered in super hot pepper sauce.... 🤔 not worth it. ha

[@andreleblanc2833]

@@WeirdExplorer fun fact, the sour citrus would make the spicy go away rather fast

[@peterconway6584]

I like mixing Chinese lemon sauce (the kind that comes with Lemon Chicken) with a bit of cayenne pepper.

[@pepre7594]

@@andreleblanc2833 probably taste quite good too

[@LarsSveen]

That's the tiniest Meyer lemon I've ever seen. I live in Southern California and they are popular to grow, so I've seen a lot of them. I personally have an improved Meyer lemon tree, and mine often grow to softball size.

[@LarsSveen]

Note: They only grow giant around February though. The rest of the time they are just a bit bigger than supermarket lemons.

[@tinyjungle_]

I second this. Mine are 1.5 to 2.5x bigger than store lemons.

[@aimeem]

Do they still taste the same?

[@Bubu567]

@@aimeem Smaller ones have a stronger taste, imo. Especially the rind. You get less fruit though. Toning down the rind flavor could be a good thing though.

[@baddriversofcolga]

You can only get the improved version as the previous version carried a virus.

[@evanwilliams8908]

Blink twice if the rare citrus growers kidnapped you and forced you to eat rare lemons.

[@benjaminbroudy2982]

Meyer lemons are my grandmothers favorite. She has a 40 year old meyer lemon tree, and she recently got a second one because she wanted more. Here in San Diego meyer lemons are very common in supermarkets

[@roymakescomics]

Of course they are

[@sommers6235]

Jared, you are EXACTLY the kind of person I want to party with when COVID is finally over.

[@northdwarf]

Must resist Cars 2 joke....

[@035gogmofo6]

Me to. But i don’t think he the kind of person that likes to party. But i mean if corona is gonna be over. I think everyone is gonna party.

[@benjaminnguyen1328]

same he is like me i love fruits

[@sommers6235]

@@benjaminnguyen1328 right? I want to have a friend who calls me up and says, "hey I got some weird fruit on the internet and we're going to spend the next six hours roasting it, eating it, and describing its taste in very specific detail. You in?"

[@treyellis3]

Ditto

[@terrapedes]

Lemon gelato, lemonade and lemon bars! Love lemons

[@Saamniferu]

Lemons r my second favorite fruit. Limes are first. everything lemon or lime flavored is soooo good.

[@alixtheprofessionalcatherd6850]

Lemon haze!

[@b.rileyjowett6925]

I love Meyer lemons, despite being in a rather cool climate I will still always keep a couple of potted Meyer lemon trees in my house.

[@fisqual]

I have just one and I'm shocked by how many lemons it continues to give me year round. It's barely 2 years old.

[@zanerkindardis8978]

@@fisqual yours is probably a clone most citrus trees from what I've seen and experience first hand if grown from a seed take 3 to 5 years to produce fruit. Clones can start producing almost immediately so long as the mother plant was already producing fruit.

[@fisqual]

@@zanerkindardis8978 I think you're right...

[@laurasinkins6981]

What a great array of citrus. This time of year after such a dreary winter, it's so nice to have fresh , sunny citrus. It's a mood booster. 🌞

[@giuseppe4216]

Watching one of these videos early is like striking gold

[@brandonhiraeth4537]

Just realised I'm within the first 700. 73rd like lol.

[@mattmarzula]

When you tell a story and they reference Peking instead of Beijing you know it's one of high adventure. And for a fruit of that time to be 20¢ and a tree to be $10... That's like $8 and $450 today (estimate).

[@marialiyubman]

Someone should edit your lemon reactions to your chili peppers reactions to make it make more sense. 😂

[@k8eekatt]

Meyer lemon blossoms smell so good; as lovely as lillies.

[@kaykepop4084]

I've bought Meyer lemons from my local Aldi 😊. I like using them in my lemon bread/loaf recipe😋.

[@justinwilliams7324]

I'm glad your carrying on the history of these unsung heroes.

[@josec.6394]

I never thought I would see so many interesting videos about fruits in the same channel

[@cristiaolson7327]

I eat meyer lemons like tangerines. I had to move away from the house with the big mature meyer tree, so now I have a young potted one which will hopefully someday provide me with buckets full once again.

[@kattkatt744]

I love your sacrifice for science and every time you scrunch up your face I do so to in solidarity. I wonder if the Villafranca is one of the cultivars used for making Limoncello? The floral rind would fit I think.

[@benny_lemon5123]

I am honestly just so grateful to Jared for bringing this content to us, especially at a time when so many of us are stuck in some form of quarantine or isolation. Its a nice reminder that, no matter how seemingly mundane, most everything in our daily lives is so much more interesting than we are aware of.

[@78deathface]

You should do one about different kinds of limes! If you haven’t already, that is. I love the little round ones you get at street stalls in Vietnam...

[@colette8022]

Oh hey I'm from Monterey and I have a Meyer Lemon tree in my backyard!

[@kevoon4654]

I love your videos! I just started watching and I’m addicted

[@WeirdExplorer]

Thanks and welcome to the channel!

[@hazenstribling2646]

watching this made me salivate a lot and by the end i was grimacing

[@youtube.commentator]

When life gives you lemons, make lemon scented byproducts

[@thedoors1388]

I enjoy these citrus videos; they are one of my favorite types of fruit to grow and eat. With all the varieties of citrus in existence, you will (almost) never run out of fruit to make videos about (the same could be said of Passiflora species, which I noticed is the subject of your next video). It would be interesting if you could spotlight some of the heirloom varieties of citrus such as Dancy tangerine and Duncan grapefruit and compare them to the varieties (clementines, seedless mandarines, various red grapefruits, etc.) that replaced them.

[@Alienboy-gu3dm]

I really like your vids I watch them when I’m bored in school

[@terryenglish7132]

My folks had one of those giant Lemon tree in their yard. It was more of a 7 or 8 sour wise tho and sweet as a Orange, maybe half a point down. You could almost eat it like an Orange. Almost. I d juice them and Oranges and mix the juice 50-50.Tasted great....It seems like citrus is more a spectrum rather then sharply defined individual things.

[@connieembury1]

I love eating lemons. I won a lemon eating contest, I had finished two lemons and everyone else was still on their first.

[@diannaodman2847]

have you tried the New Zealand lemonade lemon? i have the tree, with fruit hanging still needs some time before picking them.

[@WeirdExplorer]

I haven't! Just looked it up though and it sounds divine

[@riverAmazonNZ]

It’s worth trying. So fragrant.

[@henryforsman9483]

Absolutely fantastic. love those funky lemons.

[@markiangooley]

For Floridian history there’s Bearss from the Tampa area. Pronounced like Bierce. Don’t know much about it: a few online sellers give some information.

[@frootfarms8124]

Love Meyer’s Lemons.

[@Dovietail]

Meyer lemonade is THE BEST! I make it with rosemary simple syrup. MAJOR YUM FACTOR. And meyer lemon trees make particularly nice standards. I have one that I bring in every winter, and it tends to fruit heavily around Christmas or New Year's.

[@Grace.Margate]

I love Meyer Lemons!!🍋

[@TomoyoTatar]

I ate meyers for the first time two weeks ago; it was the most delicious lemon I ever ate!

[@carak525]

Can you please do a review on the red custard apple or the red atemoya on miamifruit? It would be really cool

[@WeirdExplorer]

I have it ripening on my counter as we speak. It should be out next week. One thing is for sure, it looks awesome!

[@carak525]

@Weird Explorer Cool! I am looking forward to that episode

[@jnmsks6052]

Been enjoying your puns as well as the videos. Good to see your channel grow!

[@WeirdExplorer]

Hey, thanks!

[@davidwalker4039]

Thank you for trying the rind before I had to complain about it here

[@JessHull]

thank you for also always tasting teh rind whne you flavor test citrus. Lots of people always forget teh rind is as flavor packed if not more then the pulp.

[@k8eekatt]

And the rind has most of the vitamin C 😃

[@tiomono27]

I really enjoyed your brief history on the Meyer lemon. And I appreciate your attempt at being very thorough. You missed the most important part about Meyer lemons, the ZEST.

[@Pillowcase]

You've made me rethink eating in general. I've never cared much about food and especially cooking - but after watching your videos I'm realizing how nature itself has produced such a wide universe of different flavors and experiences in food... And I don't think I'll ever be able dismiss food as something I'm disinterested about!

[@avioracrown6967]

That reference in thumbnail 😂 IM crying I hope Scott Sterling not your siblings 👉😁👈

[@woolcurve4278]

sooo underrated . you deserve better because your content is 1st class. Good luck to you in finding more exotic fruits

[@TheTimN8er]

i have no clue how this channel isn’t like 5 times bigger at least

[@YeszCore]

Your editing deserves awards. So subtly funny

[@gusbnz9750]

Have you ever tried tomate japones (Japanese tomato)? It is a common fruit in Brazil and it is very sweet, with a hard skin It tastes nothing like regular tomatoes, tastes more like a citrus fruit

[@allenkinahan6955]

I've got one in a pot with three green lemons on it atm. Thanks for this!

[@jeffreym68]

Meyer lemon curd is amazing.

[@libslayer4280]

I have Meyer tree. Lovely lemons.

[@mohnmann]

yeah, my favourite topic- Citrus!

[@PREPFORIT]

Thank you for this.

[@thefutureofgardening5912]

Great video! I've got an improved Meyer Lemon tree with a ton of Meyers on them right now. They're very tasty.

[@ventgoblin3622]

Have you ever heard of a pawpaw fruit they are very delicious and they taste like so many fruit combined

[@jewelrios]

He made a video on it 5 years ago kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIbcY4JppqmHbqs

[@nickbono8]

Meyer lemons make great lemonade. Not super tart so you don’t have to add as much sugar to compensate for the tartness you get with supermarket lemons.

[@joshs8738]

In northern cali, have a big Meyer lemon tree. I usually juice a bunch and freeze in ice trays, then pop out and put in freezer bags for later use anywhere I would use a normal lemon. I also like to leave some on the tree longer. The sweetness comes up and the sour down, the rind becomes much more palatable too. Are the Villafranca the ones used for limoncello?

[@JTMusicbox]

Meyer lemons are awesome and I agree on their zest, but Id never heard of the Vilafranca. Always a pleasure to discover new citrus through this channel!

[@elioraimmanuel]

Meyers are my favorite! I get them at Walmart!

[@ryanlilly198463]

I love lemons with Miracle Berry tablets.

[@Michael-db1ce]

Ever think about adding a scale of bitterness and soapiness?

[@bhuthemanakuma7802]

Love to see you go on the next adventure,sir.

[@beaudjekic105]

Hey man, very interesting vid, the history of it was cool. I’ve been watching yo stuff fo years and really enjoying the content. Keep up the good stuff. My brother is buying (for my birthday) one of yo shirts and durian stickers fo me yay! Only one little suggestion, well it’s more of a request I guess..., More merch please, new items & new shirt designs etc. I’d definitely support. Thanks. Shout out to you from Sydney Australia.

[@jamespigeon1399]

this madlad just straight up eats a lemon rind

[@bungalowfeuhler1541]

Every time I see these in the store, I wanna buy them and just eat the whole bag. Then I remember that they’re lemons.

[@jeffingels4480]

Most meyer lemons sold now are called improved meyer, you can buy the original meyer but it's harder to find.

[@N.A.W.A.K]

Hey! I love the show and love researching plants aswell. I've got some fruit suggestions for you, here are a few for now: Sloes (Blackthorn), Beech Akenes (Fagus sylvatica) and the very cool looking fruit from the "Mormon Tea" plant (Ephedra species).

[@Junzar56]

Extremely interesting!

[@WeirdExplorer]

Glad you think so!

[@fisqual]

I have a 2 year old meyer lemon tree on my enclosed patio in central Ohio. This tree gets barely enough sun but is so wildly productive; since it started bearing fruit in about July of last year I've gotten at least 2-3 lemons a month and it's barely 2.5 feet tall!! I'm sure I'll get double that next year.

[@jenniferbutcher8393]

How cold does your porch get during the winter?

[@fisqual]

@@jenniferbutcher8393 I built it so it's incredibly well insulated despite being mostly glass. I have a space heater on a thermal switch that kicks on when it's below 36 degrees. I was honestly shocked that it continued to produce lemons even in those cold temperatures! (We did have a very mild winter though, so the space heater barely ran)

[@critterjon4061]

My aunt has a vilafranca lemon tree in her backyard and I usually just eat the lemons whole peel and all just spitting out the seeds

[@arnaudmenard5114]

Huh...funny, i mostly buy Meyer lemons for the rind! I like the nice pepperiness, it makes some incredible lemon meringue pie. Or, you can eat meyer lemons simply sliced thin, rolled in sugar, with a bit of cardamom and cloves sprinkled in.

[@jdkgcp]

Those Sicilian lemons can grow crazy big...way larger than the one he has. A good Italian Limoncello is the easiest way to get a good taste of it if you're not in Italy.

[@oojamesoo3930]

Hey man, I don't understand how you're not well over 1million but I'm watching

[@GermanCricket13]

Lemons(and limes too) taste amazing with salt

[@chieryyupykiss7286]

lmao this guy so brave lick the lemon without drink water😂😂

[@rawsy4769]

Have you ever tried the paraguayo fruit? It is one of my favorite fruits, similar to a peach

[@riverAmazonNZ]

Meyer lemons are the best lemons for me 🥰☺️😋🍋🍋🍋 A common supermarket lemon where I live is Yen Ben. I don’t care for it, but when meyers are not in season I have no choice.

[@justjakki]

Meyer lemons are amazing! You can even eat the skin😊 Edit: seriously, bite right into it! It's delicious!

[@swampgoth]

xiangningmeng is the original historical name for this fruit. I think its more appropriate to frame Meyer's role in this more as bringing it to America rather than fully discovering it. The history of this plant is heavily focused on Meyer, and while he did popularize it, I heavily doubt that it was truly only ornamental before his involvement. Was he fluent in the language? did he get multiple accounts that it was purely ornamental? Maybe the one person he tried it from was just growing it ornamentally for themselves. It just seems highly unlikely that a culture would eat lemons, mandarins, but not a hybrid of the two? A lack of records besides Meyer's does not mean it is the whole truth, it shows that there was a lack of documentation. It is possible records have been lost to time, or disregarded by the western world of botany.

[@carlospiedra308]

I usually peel my lemons if im going to eat them straight.

[@chipsnegativeharmonyrips7187]

Epic thumbnail

[@bodgertime]

5:46 Meyer

[@pozzowon]

Man that bites ghost peppers, calls Carolina reapers not as spicy as ***, fears the mighty lemon...

[@DeathMetalDerf]

I love watching you eat the sour ones! How did the CRFG folks find you? Or did you find them?

[@GuberShep]

These would make some wonderful juice. Mmmm

[@ekbergiw]

Has anyone else started smelling and tasting the fruit as he talks about it?

[@charlesor1023]

had you taste the pesian lime (citrusx latifolia)? here in mexico we call them lemons but the lemons you have (the yellow ones like eureka) we call them limes; i don't know why but it may be a fun story behind it.

[@jeffmock8845]

Anyone else’s mouths salivate like crazy every bite he took???

[@yesterdaydream]

Frankie Lemonseed is my new nom de plume

[@joec8750]

I think they use the big one on lemoncello

[@johnlittle8975]

I used to peel Meyer lemons like an orange and eat them.

[@tiomono27]

I’ve recently come across a cookbook. Mad about Meyer lemons. By Court Sinise. You might want to check it out.

[@asemic]

TRY CITRON OMG

[@douglasgrant8315]

Jared the video quality is much better did you buy much better equipment? sure is really nice work compared to past videos..

[@TheWeirdestOfBugs]

Not gonna lie, I thought I saw a grub in the Vilafranca and my phobia started to kick in

[@rubenoneal6758]

I live in the Mojave desert and I was renting a house years ago and we had a tree with pink lemons. They we semi sweet. I would love to know what they were.

[@swazz3367]

Sick

[@DepressionKnowsBest]

How do you smuggle in all this food!!!!

[@haroldsaxon1075]

Imo, Villafranka are better than buddha's hand for candies and baking, but they aren't available as often in whole foods.

[@Magic1v1er]

Hey man. You should eat the Guarana.

[@jyin66]

Meyer is definitely made significant contributions to bring the fruit to its popularity. It would be also valuable to explain its original name in its original native region ( talking about respect to IP 😊). Any idea of what it’s real name?

[@radionoakmont7756]

this is my fave lemon my dream is to grow several trees of them in a green house and maybe one day make a ultimate hybrid of the blood ornage with a meyer lemon id call it the midnight lemon a true sweet n sour creation with brilliant inside color