You are close, though. It's a fruit related to the lemon family which is cultivated in gardens all over the Middle East. These trees are common in Syria where they are still found in traditional Damascean interior gardens.
Here's how it compares to an ordinary lemon! Kind of bumpy, eh? Well, there's not much juice in these things but the peel is very thick and, you guessed it, it's used to make a sort of marmelade.
The peel is trimmed off and boiled in a concentrated sugar mixture on a low heat so that it becomes this candied, lemon-type peel which can be eaten at breakfast or for dessert sometimes. My dear Syrian MIL used to make it and she called it 'kabbad' in arabic.
This is just to show you my poor, sun-baked, outdoor thermometer which is registering about 94F. Not too bad since it's noontime here and don't forget it's a DRY heat! So I'll wait 'til July to complain!!!
I'll leave you with a few more hibiscus flowers.
Aren't these colors pretty?
7 comments:
The photos make me long for summer and we're just now seeing bits of spring. I'm sure by July I will be complaining about the humidity though. We've had too much rain and there are several areas that flooded. Fickle weather! The big yellow fruit (?) is something I've never seen before.
They look like "Elephant Man" lemons! Wow! Those are huge! I love candied citrus peel--one of my favorite treats. Looks yummy.
I love, love, love, your garden tours! Can't wait to show my husband...
Unbelievable! I have never seen anything like it in my life. How much do they weigh? I wish you could send some of that heat over here. The wind is really whipping up outside and they say it is the first day of spring...LOL!
That fruit is amazing! And I can never see enough hibiscus. I have the Rose of Sharon which is a cousing I think.
I meant cousin. It's too early to be typing I guess.
Oh you are making me feel the warmth of summer, which I really need right now. It still feels like winter here. Wow I've never seen a fruit like that before, thanks for sharing and I loved all the garden pictures.
just found your blog thru your comment on Taniwa's blog.
Looks like we have similiar weather, I live in the desert where we have orange, lemons and grapefruit. You must have more yearly rainfall tho, your's is ALOT more green!
I'll be back!
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