Etrog

Description

Etrog is the yellow citron used by Jewish communities during the week-long festival of Sukkot as one of the four species, and it is grown as a majestic small evergreen tree with white flowers and green foliage, reaching about 1.5 metres tall. The fruit looks like a knobby lemon, sometimes ribbed, with a yellow, intensely aromatic rind that is very thick around tiny segments containing many seeds. Its uses are ceremonial, fragrant and culinary rather than as a fresh-eating fruit: the ritual specimens for Sukkot, the aromatic rind for perfuming rooms, and the thick rind for preserves and confectionery in the citron tradition. No reliable New Zealand harvest months are documented for this entry, so no harvest timing is assigned. Grow in a warm, sunny, frost-free position in fertile free-draining soil, water steadily and feed in the growing season; like most citrons the tree can carry thorns, so site and handle it accordingly. Self-fertile.