The Picture Pantry/Alamy
IS THERE any fruit more useful than a lemon? The citric acid in its juice can provide a touch of sharpness that improves a vast range of dishes. The fragrant oil concentrated in the peel of lemons has an aroma so appealing that we add it to cleaning products. It is also a good source of vitamin C: once its power to prevent scurvy was discovered in the 1750s, it led to a boom in demand for lemons.
The family history of citrus fruits is complex and uncertain, but genomic studies suggest that lemons are a hybrid of a …
