Meyer Lemons

[Rosiepigs]

Do any LA area stores carry Meyer Lemons at this time? I'm making a meyer lemon pie, and i need one more, since one of my lemons had the weird, one-lemon-of-a-bunch go bad issue. I'm thinking Gelson's? or maybe the bristol farms on sunset?

[gossamered]

I was at Pavilions in Burbank on Sunday and they had them.

[Rosiepigs]

d'oh! oh well, next time. none turned up at whole foods in west LA, bristol farms in West LA, Ralph's on ventura nor Von's (i swear i saw mangosteen there once). i went with the two i had and comforted myself with the knowledge that the pie overflowed greatly last time, so cutting back might not be a bad idea. pie is now made, looks yummy, will try shortly.

[AAQjr]

they had 'em at the SMFM this morning (wednesday)

[Phurstluv]

How was the pie??

[silverlakebodhisattva]

From time to time at some of the grocers serving the Armenian and Russian communities (Jon's, SuperKing) I've seen stacks of what were identified as "sweet lemons", which were quite thin-skinned and which appeared to quite possibly be Meyers (my old house had a dwarf Meyer tree, so I sorta know what they look like without cutting 'em open) and about a quarter of the price that Gelson's would charge. Worth a look.

[Burger Boy]

So, is that what those are? I wondered about those sweet lemons.

[Rosiepigs]

i've once mistaken "sweet" lemons for meyers--they're not the same. sweet lemons are just regular lemons, but maybe rebranded to trick you. meyer's are distinct with a much sweeter and more complex flavor. but, i'll check a jon's to see what they're selling. and i still haven't found a grocery store with meyer's; i might use a few kumquats instead.

[AAQjr]

I don't think there is anything shady going on. Persian lemons are not Eureka's, they are sweet. I would say less acidic than Myer's but with a mild lemon flavor.. the Myer has more going on.

[Phurstluv]

Actually, and go ahead and do the research, I haven't but I think the Meyers are a hybrid, crossed with a type of orange.

But I'm sure I'll hear it if I'm off base!!!

[silverlakebodhisattva]

NO, the ones I've gotten at Superking were definitely not "just regular lemons, but maybe rebranded to trick you"; they were rounder, way thinner-skinned, way less acid. LOOKED more like Meyers than like Eurekas, but as AAQjr says, tasted not as complex as my old tree's Meyers. I was willing to acknowledge the possibility that they maybe just weren't very GOOD, well-stored and well-shipped Meyers.

[Rosiepigs]

hmmm, interesting. ok, the ones i had a while back were regular lemons masquerading as "sweet" lemons (they weren't from an armenian market). there are persian lemons, but i can't seem to pin down their variety online (even the online citrus database don't say anything about a "Persian" variety). sweet, but not meyers, as AAQjr says. oh, and meyers seem to be a lemon-orange hybrid brought to the states from china about 100 years ago.

as for finding a store carrying them, i'm going to hit up two larger whole foods markets (the one in Sherman Oaks is achingly small, almost to the point that we'd be better off with it closing and opening in a bigger venue.) if that fails, i'm using kumquats. do y'all think kumquats and meyers would go well together?

many thanks

[ozhead]

If you are short ONE Meyer lemon, why not just fill the gap with a Eureka lemon and maybe add an extra tablespoon of sugar? It is not going to make much (if any) difference to the eventual taste. Just make the pie ahreddy.

[a_and_w]

The sweet lemons I've had are significantly sweeter than Meyer lemons. They taste like lemonade -- you don't even need to add sugar. I could swear I still see Meyer's at the SM Farmer's market but will double check this weekend.

[a_and_w]

Confirmed -- there are Meyer lemons at the SM Farmer's market. I believe it was the Garcia Bros. organic stand where I saw them. They have sweet lemons/limes, too, if you're curious to compare.

[Burger Boy]

Commercially, call Marina Frams, if anyonehas or can get it is them.

[bulavinaka]

I didn't see any Meyers there last week, but who knows...

[mnosyne]

I think if anyone's got them, it'll be the farmers markets.

[OCAnn]

I haven't seen any Meyer lemons at any of the OC Farmers Markets.

[FED]

best bet would be to check with a neighbor. i've still got a few left on my tree, but they're getting pretty warty. commercial production was done by the end of March.

[Phurstluv]

You can try, but I think they are a late-spring / early summer sort of crop. Call the produce dept first before driving over, they should be able to tell you.