Fruity Friday…#Buddha Hand Fruit…

Fruity Friday is where I bring you a fruit I have discovered some I find here and others I have discovered while doing my research and would try myself…Like last weeks fruit the Jabuticaba a fascinating fruit which grows on the trunk of the tree and one which I will most certainly be looking out for…I just love discovering new fruits and vegetables as it opens a whole new world, doesn’t it?

This Buddhas Hand Fruit looks like a mutant Lemon…Often used for decorations and Halloween themes…for which it is perfect…It is however perfectly edible it has no juice and no pulp you can just eat it sliced and raw…it’s lack of bitterness means it makes perfect candied fruit…

With a sweet lemon blossom aroma, it can be just popped in the middle table and the scent can waft around…

Its mild-tasting pith is not bitter which means the fruit can be zested or used whole…

How about infusing your vodka or making a simple syrup for cocktails? How does A Buddhacello sound?

Add to sugar or salt and viola a lovely flavoured salt/sugar to enhance your cooking…

Shave thin slices and add to a salad or slaw…a vinaigrette…a topping for fish…use as you would a lemon…

I am loving the sound of this fruit so much that I have ordered a plant for my garden plus a finger lime…it is native to China and India although it has been grown here …it seems not commercially…Buddhist monks are said to have taken its ancestor the citron from India to China where at least 6  six distinct types of Buddha’s Hand are cultivated on 5,000 acres just south of Shanghai. sometime in the mid to late 80’s the fruit was cultivated in California commercially…

Although many fruits are the size of a hand with fingers the fingered canopy has been known to grow between 6 and 12 feet in height this is why it is often used at Halloween and is sometimes known as the Ghost Hand…

Medicinally it has been used for centuries and for thousands of years used for pain relief…namely due to the chemical composition of the fruit, which includes coumarin, limonin, and diosmin. In combination with its anti-inflammatory capacity, Buddha’s hand can relieve swelling and pain caused by everything from injuries and surgeries to simple bangs and bruises and be often believed to speed up wound healing and discolouration of bruises.

This fruit needs a warm or at least temperate climate in which to grow. Where lemons and oranges can grow, so too can Buddha’s hand. Also like other citrus fruit, it ripens and is harvested starting in winter and may be available to buy into spring. It tends to come into season a bit more in-line with grapefruit than oranges, so we may be well into winter before you’ll see it piled up at markets.

As it is warm and sunny here I am hoping I can successfully grow this weird looking beautiful fruit…

I do hope you have enjoyed learning about this weird looking fruit as much as I have and if you are lucky enough to have tried this fruit please let us know in comments…I love to chat…Love Carol xx

 

 

 

 

 

I do hope you have enjoyed learning about this fruit as much as I have and if you are lucky enough to have tried this fruit please let us know in comments…I love to chat…Love Carol xx

37 thoughts on “Fruity Friday…#Buddha Hand Fruit…”

  1. Sharda

    Hello Carol Cooks2. I am from southern part of India. I never saw this fruit. Probably it is found in the North-East India. Its great to know about this new fruit. The anti-inflammatory properties of the fruit is wonderful. I would love to taste it, if I ever get a chance.

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      I’m sure you do as well, Pete although I do think the climate is better suited to many fruits here…However anything which needs a snap of cold to germinate like the common potato doesn’nt grow here..swings and roundabouts…Have a great weekend, Pete 🙂 x

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    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Haha thats a good description, Dorothy.. I am looking at getting one for my garden.. The temperature is right for growing here.. I’m looking at finger limes as well 😊

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  19. Steve Tanham

    Looks wonderful, Carol. Weird, mind you. Love the idea of a Buddhaceollo! Hopefully not as potent as it’s lemon forebear… I once wrote off the next days with that ‘pleasant and gentle’ long, yellow drink!! x

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