Monday, December 30, 2013

Ponderosa Lemons

Have you ever heard of Ponderosa lemons? I hadn't up until just this past week. One of our cousins lives in Alabama and he brought a big cooler full of these lemons with him to Christmas this year. I love discovering new vegetables and fruits, so I was happy to take some off of his hands.


I was really surprised at the size of the fruit. They are similar in size to grapefruits and have a thick, bumpy rind. They actually aren't true lemons at all, but a hybrid fruit that is part lemon and part citron.


They are very seedy inside and taste a little more bitter than a lemon. They aren't quite as tart as lemons, but their juice can be used in place of lemon juice in any recipe in the same quantity.


I'm excited to try them out in a "lemonade" since I have tons of them to use before they go bad. I'd also like to try lemon bars, lemon cookies, lemon curd...the list goes on! I really love lemons so I can think of plenty of uses for these Ponderosa lemons. And heck, if I have any left over the roosters will be happy to take them off my hands.


Do you live in a climate warm enough to grow citrus fruit? If so, do you grow Ponderosa lemons?

~Tammy

Shared with Clever Chicks Blog Hop, From the Farm Blog Hop  

44 comments:

  1. how very cool! i drink lemon juice almost daily. wish we could grow our own.

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  2. My sister in law and I were JUST talking about growing citrus this past weekend. I haven't attempted it but was thinking of a small lemon tree to grow inside. In NH we definetely don't have a warm climate for citrus but I wish we did! Love the shot of the rooster with his favorite treat!

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  3. Never heard of these type of lemons. Have fun making all your lemon creations! I myself have a special love for lemon bars.

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  4. Mmmm, love lemon and poppyseed cake!

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  5. How cool! I've never heard of these but I can imagine that they'd be great to cook with. :-)

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  6. I hadn't heard of them until now, I love that they're so big!

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  7. I like everything on your lemon list. :) I've never heard of them before but they sound intriguing. I just love the last photo!!

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  8. I've never heard of Ponderosa lemons and honestly, I am pretty sure I have never seen them at the farmer's market, either. I would like to try one someday, though.

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  9. I've never heard of Ponderosa lemons but I like drink lemonade.
    The last picture is my favourite.
    Happy New Year !

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  10. I had not heard of the Ponderosa lemons until your post today but I just did a little research on them. I wish I was in an area that I could grow citrus fruit but I am not. I do grow apples, several different variety of seedless table grapes and almonds.

    Your chickens are beautiful.

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  11. A lemon jackpot! Sounds like you have a lot of recipes, that call for lemon. Enjoy..
    Wishing you all the best in 2014, Happy New Year to you and your family!

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  12. Hi,
    I love lemon too. I am excited to hear more about what you do with them.

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  13. I saw these in the store recently and didn't know what they were!

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  14. I have never heard of these -- and they are big aren't they? I'd be making lemon meringue pie, or maybe three? :)

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  15. I may have seen these lemons before someplace. The chicken really likes looking at it too. If you don't use them up, try making some of those pomander things out of them; they might be good with a big lemon like that.
    Give the cats a big meow from me.

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  16. Wow what an incredible gift. I would love to see those they look huge. Citrus here I don't think so:) Love the chick and lemon:) Hug B

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  17. Oooooh, what a treat! It's like a little bit of sunshine in the winter! We have a lemon tree, but unfortunately, it has never given us one decent piece of fruit. Ah well, we are abundant in other things. Enjoy that citrus!

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  18. Ponderosa lemons are new to me...I am always learning someting new from you. I am sure those babies would make great lemonade...yummy.. No, no critus grown around here...lots of other types of fruits.. I hope to plant a few fruit trees here soon... apple, cherry, maybe a pear tree.... I am sure the roosters would love the lemons.... Have a great New Year...and be Blessed!

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  19. What a great gift! I love lemon bars and your idea of lemonade sounds good too.

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  20. havenat heard of Ponderosa lemons. but they look like normal lemons. we can and have grown satusumas (a form of tangerines) and we can and have grown lemons. we don't have any of those trees now, but we have in the past. they arent really large trees, but our satsuma tree always had of ton little ones on it. we could harvest some when they got ripe if we could beat the squirrels to them. we live way down south in south Louisiana.

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  21. I've never heard of Ponderosa lemons, but last February we had family drive up from Floriday, and they brought us a bunch of fruit we thought were a type of grapefruit.. I think this may be exactly what they were! Any home grown fruit is a wonderful gift- we cannot grow ANYTHING right now. It got up to -6 or -7 for a high again today. Burr!

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    Replies
    1. (the photo of the white bowl made me smile.. I love my matching one!)

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  22. We wish you a pleasant year change
    Until next year
    RW & SK

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  23. I love that photo of the chicken and the lemon Tammy:) Nicely done! I've not ever heard of these lemons. They look large and I'm sure they are delicious:)

    Have a wonderful New Years EVE and Happy New Year!!

    xxleslie

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  24. WOW!! Look at the size of those Lemons. Loving the photo of the Chicken with the lemon.

    Wishing you a happy New Year..

    Hugs~

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  25. Yum! I love lemon treats, too! Have fun with your windfall! Don't forget to share recipes! I love the intense gaze of Mr. Rooster, as if he were saying, ' Do I eat the seeds first or the lemon rind?' Decisions, decisions. xo Karen

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  26. While reading your whole post, I'm sitting here puckering!!
    Your poor chicken - she can't pucker with her beak!! I've never seen lemons that size except in Greece!! Pucker - pucker!!
    You can also squeeze them (pucker) and put them into ice trays and freeze them. then put them (pucker) into freezer zip lock bags. Use a measuring cup to pour the lemon juice (picker) into the ice tray so you know how much you have. Such a nice cousin!!

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  27. Happy almost New Year - look forward to reading your blog in 2014. I love all things lemon so look forward to your lemon recipes.

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  28. Have never heard of Ponderosa lemons. Too cold here to grow them here. I see lots of lemonade and lemon bars at your house.

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  29. Alas, I cannot grow citrus without a huge climate controlled hot house, so it will never happen here. That's the one thing I miss about California, citrus trees grew everywhere down there.

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  30. huh, i've never heard of ponderosa lemons before...but here's a weird one for you...have you heard of lemon cucumbers? a friend of mine used to grow them and they were soooo good! i haven't seen them since though. have a happy new year!! love the photo of the chicken and the lemon :)

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  31. The lemons are lovely! They look delicious. Not too much citrus for the flock, it can interfere with calcium absorption, even though they enjoy it :) Happy New Year Tammy!

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  32. Wow interesting, growing citrus is very common here and we had a fruit orchard until we moved to the ranch. I haven't heard of this type before. Will keep my eye for them now though, sounds good. Happy 2014 friend, sending blessing for a wonderful year!

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  33. Oh, my! You do teach me lots of interesting things! Have a happy and blessed New Year! :-)

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  34. Happy New Year! Oh, I wish we could grow citrus, but even though it was almost sixty degrees today, snow is forecast for tonight :-( I've never heard of a Ponderosa lemon, but I'll be looking for them! It's been a pleasure visiting your writing over the past year. Thanks so much for all the wisdom, smiles and plain good information!

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  35. Those are huge lemons. Never heard of them though. I wish we had a climate that would grow citrus! I remember walking out the back door at my grandparents house south of Phoenix and picking grapefruit! Happy New Year!

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  36. I have never heard of a Ponderosa, but this post warmed me up inside. The fruit looks lovely, and makes me think of warmer places!

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  37. Cool. I've never even heard of those before.

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  38. These pictures are great Tammy. You have a great lens. I like the image of the sliced fruit. I laughed at the image of the rooster looking at the fruit.

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