Lemon Varieties

Lemon and lime are two citrus fruits of the genus Citrus belonging to the Rutaceae family. They are used mainly to season or enhance the flavour of other fruits, dishes and culinary preparations, but above all as a juice for soft drinks, sorbets and all kinds of refreshing beverages. The lemon tree grows in temperate climates and is currently cultivated in all the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, especially in Italy, Spain, Portugal and the United States.

The plant travelled from the Near East to Spain and North Africa during the Middle Ages. The lime is native to Southeast Asia, Persia (Iran) and Malaysia, although it is grown in all tropical and many subtropical countries. Lemon and lime are available in our markets all year round. In Spain, the harvest period for the Primofiori lemon runs from early October to late February. Those of Verna and Eureka run from early February to late May.

The lemon is a fruit somewhere between yellow and green, with a rind that conceals a spongy, tasteless white layer, and its flesh has a pale yellowish tone, made up of eight to ten segments that hold small seeds, full of acidic and very pleasant juice.