The origin of the lemons is unknown, but it is largely agreed that it was first cultivated in Assam (northeastern India) or northern Burma or China. Somewhere along the line, it became a hybrid between bitter orange (sour orange) and citron, which is your main ancestor of the citrus family, with thick crusty crust and bitter taste.

Fruit has come a long way since then, making it one of the favorite citrus in the world. Arab traders brought lemons to the Middle East and Africa later on their way to southern Italy around 200 BC. He was sown in Egypt. The Citron paved the way for all citrus where it reached the Mediterranean in the late 1st century BC. These days, citron, which contains little pulp or juice, is usually coated and baked in buns.

Slow to catch up, for more than a thousand years of lemon and lemon were the only citrus fruits known in the Mediterranean basin. Lemons, though abundant and familiar now, were indeed rare in ancient Rome, appreciated by the elite and represented a high social status. (So ​​if someone called you at the time, it might have been a compliment.)

At first, lemon was not grown widely for food or spice purposes, but the ornamental plant was largely, like tomatoes, until about the 10th century. Arabs introduced lemons in Spain in the eleventh century, and by that time they became common crops in the Mediterranean. Lemons were introduced to Western Europe somewhere between 1000 and 1200 BC. He traveled with the Crusades throughout their journey, en route to England in the early 16th century. The name "Lemon" appeared for the first time between 1350 and 1400, from the ancient French word Limon, and English in England. The original Italian word limone returns to the Arabic and Persian word limun. (More than you want to know.)

Thanks to Christopher Columbus, who brought them to Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) in 1493, these new trees that produced strange yellow tart fruit spread throughout the new world but were still used mainly as plants and medicinal plants because of their sour taste. (Obviously no one has discovered how to make lemon meringue pie yet).

While the head of food lovers Thomas Jefferson boasted more than a thousand fruit trees in his orchards, there is no record he ever tried citrus, although he had to face it on his trips to France, but the Virginia climate simply did not give way to citrus. However, lemon was grown in California by mid-1700, and in tropical Florida by 1800, when it became successful in cooking and flavoring.

Although dessert and lemon-flavored dessert have been enjoyed for centuries, our favorite lemon meringue pie as we know it today is a nineteenth-century product. The first recorded recipe was attributed to a Swiss baker named Alexander Freih. There is also speculation that the British botanist might have stuffed him around in 1875, but he would have dreamed of doing so. One of the favorite pancakes in America, still fascinates us to this day, with a custard base tart topped by a light meringue.

More than 200 species of lemons have evolved over the past three centuries. Lemon Meyer was named after Frank-n-Mayer, who first introduced it to the United States in 1908, having found it growing in Beijing, China and returned to the United States. Favorite pastry chefs in pies and drink, it is actually a cross between lemon and oranges, with lots of US crops grown in California's Central Valley, some in Florida and Texas. Unlike normal lemons, lemons mayer are not selected green and treated after harvest but are picked up when fully cooked. They carry fruits all year round, and are usually less sour and pulp orange color.

Many of us at the grammar school learned that lemons and lemon acid prevented a disease called scorpion, discovered by Scottish surgeon James Lindh in 1747, and urged the British Royal Navy to implement it to save countless sailors. (Hence the label "limey" for Britney, which looked better than "lemon"). This opens the door to the value of vitamin C and its importance in nutrition.

It's hard to imagine life without lemon. Although you enjoy it, the light yellow, the good taste and the scented aroma enhance our lives in many different ways. If you are lucky enough to live in a growing area, you can enjoy the penny pennies in practice.