Winter 2022/2023 The Vine

Simply the Zest!

LEMON SEASON IS HERE

By Laura Petersen, BriarPatch Communications Specialist

At BriarPatch, we buy and sell a lot of local citrus in the winter months, including Meyer lemons from Johansen Ranch, a multi-generational 80-acre family farm based in Orland since 1910. Rich Johansen currently runs the farm with his wife, Mila, and daughter, Olivia, and they make their home in Penn Valley where they lease farmland to Feeding Crane Farm.

Organic certification pioneers at the time, the Johansens began using alternative methods for fertilization and pest control after Rich’s mother discovered she was allergic to pesticides. The family continues to expand their citrus varieties, always looking for ways to care for the soil while growing highquality fruit.

Since the 1970s, Johansen Ranch has been providing delicious, organic citrus, like Meyer Lemons and Satsuma Mandarins, to Veritable Vegetable and BriarPatch.

A California native, I grew up eating a lot of lemons. My Danish great grandmother, Vika, had a very prolific lemon tree in her backyard in Vallejo. When she came to visit for the holidays, she always had two full shopping bags in tow, filling our kitchen with a sweet, citrusy fragrance for days. My other great-grandmother, Bulah, would squeeze the juice from the lemons to make lemon curd to bake my favorite, Lemon Meringue Pie.

You don’t have to bake a pie to enjoy lemon curd (see recipe). Here at The Patch we love eating lemon curd right out of the bowl, plus all sorts of other ways — from fresh berry parfaits in summer, to a delicious topping for French toast or pancakes on Christmas morning. Have you tried swapping out the chocolate for a lemony twist to s’mores — like a handheld meringue pie without all the work!

Frank Nicholas Meyer*

The Meyer Lemon namesake, Frank Nicholas Meyer, an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, first introduced the fruit to the U.S. in 1908 after collecting a sample of the plant on a trip to China. Though the fruit is given his name, this variety was established thousands of years before he introduced it to America.

Meyer lemons are a cross between a citron and a mandarin/ pomelo hybrid.

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Citron Mandarin/pomelo hybrid Meyer lemon

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Did you Know? The Baker and the Cakemaker buys 1,800 pounds annually — one local Placer County farmer’s entire crop — to zest and freeze and use throughout the year to create their most popular bread, Meyer Lemon Rosemary.

Now that’s a lotta lemons!

*Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Meyer Lemon Curd

Makes 2 cups

½cup fresh Meyer lemon juice

2tsp Meyer lemon zest

¼lb butter, cut in 8 pieces

1¼cups sugar 4eggs

Add all ingredients to a quart-size saucepan, leaving eggs for last so the sugar doesn’t burn them.

Turn on medium heat and whisk constantly until everything is combined and melted together. Switch to stirring with a wooden spoon. Heat to 165º, or if you don’t have a thermometer, until the mixture is thick enough that when you swipe your finger down the back of the spoon, the curd doesn’t run.

Remove from heat and pour through a sieve into a bowl and let cool until it comes to room temperature. If you have a hand blender, give it a whisk for 30 seconds to make sure it’s silky smooth.

Cover and refrigerate. It will continue to thicken.

Meyer Lemon Limoncello

All you need are a few simple ingredients to make your own “liquid sunshine.” Enjoy it as a digestif, an addition to cocktails or a flavoring for lemony desserts. Limoncello originated on the Amalfi Coast of Italy; take it in a truly-Cali direction with Meyer lemons. Pro-tip: Use a ceramic peeler if possible; this will minimize “decay” of the natural oils.

Makes about 1 quart

4-5large, organic, untreated Meyer lemons 2cups 100-proof vodka, or Everclear

1 ½cups granulated sugar

1 ½cups lemon juice/water

Wash lemons and dry gently; rubbing will disperse oils. Carefully peel lemons, minimizing white (bitter) pith on peels.

Juice lemons, add enough water to get 1 ½ cups total liquid. Combine with sugar in small saucepan, bring mixture just to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain gentle simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Transfer syrup to small metal bowl and let sit until cool, about 20 minutes. Put this lemon simple syrup into a clean jar and store it in the fridge.

Place lemon zest in 1-quart Mason jar, or other airtight glass jar. Pour in vodka/

Everclear and let infuse for 2 weeks in a cool, dark place. You will shake the jar briefly, DAILY, to mix ingredients without opening jar.

After 2 weeks, strain zest from infusion; put liquid into a clean 1-quart jar. Add lemon simple syrup to infusion, mix well. Pour limoncello into bottle with hermetic closure (rubber ring/metal clamp) or cork stopper. Store bottles in a cool, dark place for one week.

Once fully prepared, store limoncello in the freezer so it’s always ready to drink.