But, to your taste, have you ever eaten a certain variety that obviously "tasted" acidic or tart to you? This past year I didn't really have many with a truly acidic taste. At least not overpowering. ***** Sure, I've grown many that I considered had an assertive ( I prefer that adjective to acidic or tart) type taste, and in her Dec 5th post above Suze listed many of them and I agree with most of what she posted. Notice that Rutgers is also on that list, and I could say the same about many of the older commercial varieties such as Valiant and New Yorker and Wisconsin 55 and the like. I've grown Better Boy and Big Boy quite a bit and I don't find themn to be assertive at all. Both have one parent in common, a large pink heirloom called Teddy Jones, and no, that variety is not available anywhere b'c obviously it's still used in the construction of hybrid seed for both of those varieties. There will seldom be agreement on taste of varieties b'c taste is both personal and subjective and has a human genetic association as well and taste can vary depending on the summer it was grown as to weather as well as soil used, amendments used, and other variables. Certain varieties seem to have some agreement such as the ones we're talking about here now, per Suze's list, as well as my mentioning Noir Des Cosebeauf and Sandpoint. Carolyn

hmm. a search of epicurious and the food recipe source didn't yield alot, but maybe something strikes your fancy. and congrats on the lemon haul! LEMON WALNUT FUDGE -------- ------------ -------------------------------- -JUDI M. PHELPS 3 c Sugar 1/4 c Cocoa dash -- salt 3 Tb Light corn syrup 12 oz Evaporated milk (not skim) 4 Tb Butter 1 Tb Lemon zest -- grated 3 Tb Lemon juice 1 tsp Vanilla 1/2 c Walnuts -- chopped Combine the sugar, cocoa and salt in a large, heavy bottom saucepan. Stir to mix and break up any lumps of cocoa powder. Add the corn syrup, milk and 2 tablespoons of the butter. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Stop stirring; cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid for about a minute to steam off any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan. Watch closely so the fudge does not boil over. Uncover and continue to cook (without stirring), swabbing down the sides of the pan from time to time with a pastry brush dipped in water, until the temperature reaches the soft-ball stage. Use a candy thermometer, or the old-fashioned method of dropping a bit of the hot candy into a cup of cold water every so often. When it forms a cohesive puddle on the bottom of the cup and can be formed into a ball that flattens when lifted out of the water, that's "soft-ball" stage.) Immediately swab down the sides of the pan. Pour (do not scrape) the fudge onto a slab of marble or a large platter or into a flat baking dish. Heat the lemon zest, juice, and vanilla to boiling and pour over the hot candy. Top with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Let the mixture cool to room temperature without disturbing it. Stir the fudge with a spatula or plastic scraper until it becomes thick and starts to lose its gloss. This is the exercise part...feel the burn....it takes a while! Add the chopped nuts just as the fudge becomes too stiff to stir. Spread the fudge onto a buttered plate or sheet of plastic wrap. After a few minutes, it will solidify and you can wrap and store it for several days--even weeks if you keep it a secret! Yields 2-1/8 lbs. Per 3-oz serving: 340 calories, 4 g protein, 62 g carbohydrate, 10 g fat, 21 mg cholesterol, 74 mg sodium, 1 g fiber. Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 3/27/96. Title: Lemon Drops Categories: Candies Yield: 60 servings -Nancy Speicher DPXX20A 2 c Sugar 1 c Light corn syrup 1/2 c Water 1/2 tsp Oil of lemon* 2 drops Yellow food coloring Coat well 10 toy muffin-cup pans (6 cups to a pan) or 60 tiny fancy metal molds with vegetable oil. OR: You may drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls onto oiled cooky sheets to make patties. Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a medium-size heavy saucepan. Heat quickly to boiling, stirring constantly. Wrap a fork with damp paper toweling; wipe sugar crystals from side of pan as mixture cooks. Reduce heat to medium and cook, without stirring, to 300F on a candy thermometer. (A teaspoonful of syrup will separate into threads that are hard and brittle when dropped in cold water.) Remove saucepan from heat and stir in oil of lemon and yellow food coloring until mixture stops bubbling. Pour syrup by spoonfuls into oiled molds. (If syrup becomes too hard, return saucepan to very low heat, just until mixture thins, but not long enough for syrup to darken.) Cool candies in molds at least one hour. To remove candies: Insert the pointed tip of a small paring knife around edge of molds and press to loosen. Store in layers, separated by aluminum foil, in a tight-fitting container. Orange Drops - Follow above directions for Lemon Drops, increasing the yellow food coloring to 1/4 tsp and adding 2 drops red food coloring and substituting 1/2 tsp oil of orange* for the 1/2 tsp oil of lemon. *Oil of lemon and oil of orange are products that can be purchased in any drug store. You can also substitute 1 1/2 tsp lemon extract or orange extract for the oils, if you wish. Lemon Basil Syrup 1 1/4 cups sugar 1 1/2 cups water 1 (4- by 1-inch) strip fresh lemon zest 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 8 large fresh basil sprigs Make syrup: Bring all syrup ingredients to a boil, covered, in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, then remove lid and boil 10 minutes. Pour syrup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Cool to room temperature. The reviews on this were very mixed but wanted to show it to you and let you decide if you wanted to try it out Sephardic Fruit Paste Candies Sephardim enjoy these confections on special occasions, especially Rosh Hashannah and Passover. Almost any fruit can be used in this process, but hard fruits require cooking and dried ones soaking. Although fruit is naturally sweet, the sugar in this recipe contributes additional sweetness and also intensifies the flavors, contributes body (so that the paste can be cut into shapes), and acts as a preservative. About 4 cups fruit pulp (see Variations below) About 4 cups sugar 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Confectioners' or granulated sugar for coating (optional) Measure the fruit pulp and place in a heavy medium nonreactive saucepan (do not use iron, copper, or brass). Add 1 cup sugar for each cup of pulp. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens and sputters, 30 to 50 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. 2. Spread the fruit paste over a greased 13-by-9-inch baking pan or on a baking sheet to a 1-inch thickness. Let cool, then cut into squares or diamonds. Or form the warm fruit paste into 1-inch balls and, if desired, press a walnut half or blanched almond into each ball. Cover with waxed paper and let stand at room temperature overnight. If desired, dredge the candies in confectioners' or granulated sugar to coat. This helps to keep the candies from sticking together. Store between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temperature. VARIATIONS Fruit and Almond Candies: Scatter 1 cup ground blanched almonds in a 13-by-9-inch baking pan or on a baking sheet, spread the fruit paste on top, and sprinkle another 1 cup ground almonds over the fruit paste. Dulce de Mansana (Sephardic Apple Candies): Cook 3 pounds (10 to 12 medium) coarsely chopped tart apples in 1 1/2 cups apple cider or water over medium heat until tender, 20 to 40 minutes. Drain and let cool. Press through a food mill or strainer. Or use 4 cups unsweetened applesauce. Dulce de Cayeci (Sephardic Apricot Candies): Soak 1 pound (about 3 1/4 cups) dried apricots in water to cover for at least 2 hours or overnight. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the soaking liquid. In a food processor or food mill, purée the apricots. Add the reserved soaking liquid. Dulce de Moras (Sephardic Berry Candies): Purée and strain 2 pounds (about 7 cups) stemmed blackberries, mulberries, or raspberries. Add 1 cup water. Amsath (Indian Mango Candies): This Indian adaptation of the Middle Eastern confection is called kamrooden in Calcutta. Use 4 cups strained mango pulp (about 4 pounds or 8 medium mangoes). Dulce de Shiftili (Sephardic Peach Candies): Halve and pit 2 pounds fresh peaches or apricots. Poach in boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain, peel, and purée. If desired, stir 1 teaspoon almond extract into the thickened paste. Dulce de Peras (Sephardic Pear Candies): Cook 3 pounds peeled, cored, and chopped pears in 1 1/2 cups water over medium heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and let cool. In a food processor or food mill, purée the pulp. Dulce do Bimbriyo (Sephardic Quince Candies): Among Greek, Syrian, and Iraqi communities, quince preserves (kylthoni glyko) and candied quinces are served on Rosh Hashannah and Passover. Peel and slice 3 pounds (about 8 medium) hard and slightly unripe quinces. Cook in 1 1/2 cups water over medium heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and let cool. Mash the pulp and press through a strainer. Dulce de Bimbriyo y Mansana (Sephardic Quince and Apple Candies): Cook 2 pounds peeled and chopped quinces and 1 pound peeled, cored, and chopped apples in 1 1/2 cups water over medium heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and let cool. In a food processor or food mill, purée the pulp. Makes about twenty-nine 1-inch candies. The World of Jewish Desserts October 2000 Gil Marks Simon & Schuster

Yes, the young fruits on your tree look like the ones on my tree when they were that size. Last week I picked the last two ripe fruits (still producing baby fruit.) off the tree and they look and taste like a Meyer Lemon. Acidic from the lemon genes mixed with a balanced sweetness from the orange genes. I sent a couple new pictures to Hirts and hope to get a response back in a reasonable time frame. I asked for "the real" Sweet Sambo replacement tree or a full refund. We shall see.

I believe it is personal trial and error. I have dehydrated and freeze dried lemon/lime peel and powder. And amchor ---powdered green mango. Frozen whole meyer lemon and preserved meyer. Freeze dried citrus. My only holiday baking is shortbreads. One is lemon/ginger. In a baked good only fresh i use. In Savory dishes like curries where so many other spices come into play, my powders and reconstrituted dried and dried berries add a citrus note. Freah or fresh/frozen will be superior in a baked good that has the flavor profile in the recipe. LemonShortBread for example...fresh is best. Chai pumpkin spiced cookies or cake i see no need for fresh.?. Only way to know if it fits your baking and flavor porfile is to try it. From experience i would never use my holiday good quality butters in baking without good fresh citrus. Especially short breads.