The golden apples are here – fruits of winter
It's still a transitions season outside. A few warm days, then a tiny little storm that makes us all hold our eyes to the sky in the hope of a good rain, and then again a few warm days, and who knows what will happen next week. Just like spring is a swing of temperatures, so is the fall. Sometimes the morning is chilly, inviting us to curl up under the blanket, and later in the day the sun comes out and we shed layer after layer. In any event, the weather is pleasant. It's fun to go out for a walk, and it is fun for the vegetables too – the green leaves slowly raise their heads, the roots growing in the ground are fattening and waiting impatiently for their time to come to the front of the stage. In the meantime, there are some fruits that have already decided that their time is here. They have parted from the tree and are comfortably seated on the shelves in our store – these are the organic citrus fruits.
Citrus fruits have the smell of winter. Take one, your favorite one, slightly scratch the peel with the tip of your fingernail and sniff. Close your eyes and try to imagine what season pops in to mind. I bet you'll think about the smells of cloves, a hot stove, a cold rain (and maybe even a pumpkin pie). The smells of winter. Like many other winter fruits, citrus fruits are also filled with vitamin C, to strengthen us before all the winter viruses arrive.
The first citrus fruit we meet during the year is of course the Etrog, the citron, rough, full of bumps and valleys, bitter and very important for those who want to properly celebrate Sukkot. After the holiday it turns into jam or candy. Some say it is a virtue for an easy birth, some say it's a shame to waste a good etrog. Also in the historical timeline, the etrog was among the first. It probably originates from Persia or Canaan, since all citrus originate from the Asian region, and they especially like to grow in places with a subtropical climate.
In Leviticus chapter 23, 40: “On the first day you are to gather the branches of majestic trees—palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook…” Are the leafy trees those with leaves all year round? Not a deciduous tree? A tree on which the leaves dwell? Dwell like the Hebrew word Dar דר? The DAR tree? Equals HA-DAR?
“Leafy tree” is actually the biblical translation of עץ הדר.
"וּלְקַחְתֶּם לָכֶם בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן, פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר כַּפֹּת תְּמָרִים…"
Either way, the etrog is first.
In spite of the wide variety of citrus fruits that generally exist around the world, and particularly those that our country was blessed with (how familiar are the labels of Jaffa oranges?), they all started from five species: mandarin, key lime, pomelo, citron, and another last species named Citrus halimii. All the others, even well-known and popular fruits like the lemon, are hybrids.
Citrus fruits allow everyone to choose the flavor they prefer – lovers of sour, sweet or in between can choose between limes and lemons, and sweet oranges or grapefruit. Grapefruit lovers, for example, will be pleased to know that beyond vitamin C, they contain a huge abundance of other good stuff. The grapefruit helps balance the "good" and "bad" cholesterol, is effective in preventing diabetes, lowers the risk of hypertension and stroke and the phytochemicals that give the red grapefruit its color are also good for avoiding free radicals and reducing the growth of cancer cells.
What else can be done with organic citrus fruits, other than savoring their taste? Lots! Try to dry the fruit peels you have already eaten and you can prepare a wonderful fragrant mobile, a base to pour wax into and make candles and even use them to clean the house and burn in the fireplace.
I have written more in the past about organic citrus here
To health!
Yours,
Maggie and the garden team
We can expect in our organic vegetable baskets this week:
Rocket
Potatoes
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Sweet potatoes
Eggplants
Lemons
Beets
lettuce
Peppers
In the large organic vegetable baskets, also:
Mizuna
Spinach
parsley
coriander
Organic fruit baskets:
Pears
Bananas
And oranges
In the large fruit baskets, also:
Clementines
Red grapefruit
And pomello
