The etrog – the fruit of the “magnificent tree,” an essential attribute for fulfilling the commandment of the “Four Species” – requires attention after the Sukkot holiday. Of course, during the days when it is used to fulfill the commandment, it possesses a very high status of holiness, and any utilitarian use is out of the question. But what is the proper way to handle it after the holiday ends?
It no longer serves for fulfilling the commandment, but blessings were recited over it, so it cannot be treated like an ordinary object – for example, thrown away. However, it can be used for culinary purposes. Moreover, jam or marmalade made from etrog has amazing properties, besides being very tasty and healthy. It is a segula (spiritual remedy) for easy childbirth, it aids a favorable pregnancy, and furthermore, it helps with conception. Therefore, a jar of this jam is one of the most popular gifts for couples who do not yet have children. Of course, all this applies only to jam made from those etrogs that were part of the Arba Minim on Sukkot, over which blessings were recited, which were part of the “time of our joy” – the Sukkot holiday. Jam made from etrogs bought in a grocery store does not possess these magical properties – it is simply tasty and healthy.
From the etrog, one can prepare, of course, not only jam. Schnapps and other strong drinks are made from it, candied etrog is produced, and it is widely used for making authentic British puddings.
In Israel, you can find a special liqueur called “Etrog.” By the way, few people know that the popular Italian liqueurs Cedro and Limoncello are also based on this fruit, as are many other drinks. Therefore, tinctures, infusions, and other variations using citron are truly something special. If not literally, then figuratively. Before giving our recipe for etrog jam, let’s talk a bit about the etrog itself.
A Bit About Etrogs
Etrog is very popular in cooking. Of course, there it is called citron, and scientists call it Citrus medica, and claim that it comes from the genus Citrus of the family Rutaceae.
What Kinds of Etrogs Are There?
Very different, there are many varieties and cultivars. We will indicate the most well-known in Eretz Yisrael and those most popular among Jews of various cultures.
The largest and smoothest-skinned etrogs, sometimes resembling an artillery shell in shape, sometimes more rounded, belong to a variety called in Yiddish tradition “Yenever” – that is, Genoese. In Italy, the same variety is called “Diamante.” The Genoese variety originates – like the Corsican, Corinthian, and Cretan – from those etrogs brought to Europe by Alexander the Great. In fact, such etrogs were grown only in southern Italy, in Calabria, and from the port of Genoa, they were distributed throughout the Ashkenazi world in former times. In the Russian Empire, this variety became a favorite in Chassidic circles and to this day remains almost indispensable for Lubavitch Chassidim, who have been cultivating Genoese etrogs since the founding of Kfar Chabad in Israel. The special attitude towards the etrog is based on a traditional legend about how Moses was deliberately transported from Mount Sinai to Italy to see what a true “fruit of a magnificent tree,” mentioned in the commandment of the Almighty, really is.
Sephardic Jews prefer the Moroccan variety, which still grows in the mountains of Northern Morocco. Its slightly elongated egg-shaped form with a soft point at the end is indeed the most harmonious. The precious rind seems like the work of an inspired goldsmith. The Moroccan etrog, although usually not large, meets the most sublime ideas of formal perfection.
The Yemenite etrog, Taimani, brought to Eretz Yisrael from Southern Arabia, has a more pear-shaped form with the clearest division into a narrow front and a wide back part.
The particularly sharp-nosed etrogs with a long stem – the RAMI variety (Rabbi Michoel Yehuda Lefkowitz) – about which the Chazon Ish said: “This is an etrog.” He also blessed and ordered the cultivation of the Halpern variety, the most elongated and bumpy, in shape strongly resembling cucumbers in the paintings of the masters of the Italian and Spanish Renaissance.
And finally, Braverman – a small, crooked, gnarled, extremely bumpy and practically pulp-free, but the most ethereal variety, which, perhaps, more than all other varieties expresses, according to Nekod Zinger, “the aesthetic ideal of our strange country.” This etrog has been grown in Israel since the founding of Petah Tikva by the Braverman family, and the variety is named after them. It was about this etrog that Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin (the Brisker Rebbe) once said: “This is my tree.”
Let’s also mention a completely non-kosher variety of citron that has no relation to us – “Buddha’s Fingers” from China and Indochina. These fruits look exactly as the name suggests.
What’s Useful in It?
The fruits contain flavonoids (hesperidin), pectin substances; essential oil is obtained from the peel. It is used in Asian medicine and in Great Britain for kidney diseases and malaria.
In antiquity and the Middle Ages, citrons were used as a remedy for seasickness, pulmonary, and intestinal diseases. Citron juice with wine was considered an effective antidote.
The fruits are used in folk medicine. The fruit peel was used as a remedy for dysentery. Candied peel is sold as a gastric stimulant, expectorant, and tonic.
Why Is It Like This?
The composition of pressed oil from citron peel has been found to contain:
β-pinene 1%, limonene 68%, trans-β-ocimene 2.5%, γ-terpinene 1%, linalool 1%, nero 2.5%, neral 6%, carvone 2.4%, geranial 9.5%.
Oil from citron leaves (petitgrain-citron) has a fresh, pleasant lemon scent with a floral note. Contains: neral 9%, geranial 20%, linalool, nero 5%, geraniol 30%.
It is used to impart fresh notes in eau de cologne.
What and How Is It Eaten?
In ancient times, along with ritual use, the etrog was used for other purposes: its thick rind was used for food – it was pickled in vinegar or boiled into a pulp, and from its segments, incense was made, which was also highly valued as an antidote for snake bites (Suk. 6b, Ma’as. 1:4, Shab. 109b).
Currently, the fruits are practically not consumed fresh. They are used to make candied fruit, jam, and preserves.
For the production of candied fruit, unripe fruits that appear after the spring flowering of the trees are used. The fruits should have bright green skin and be no more than 12-15 cm long and 7-10 cm wide.
Traditionally, citron zest is an important item in international trade. The fruits are cut in half, the pulp is separated, and they are soaked in a solution of sea or ordinary salt for about 40 days. The water is changed every two weeks, then rinsed, and placed in wooden barrels, filled with fresh brine. In this form, citrons are exported. The highest quality citrons are grown in Italy.
Then, already on site, after rinsing off the salt and boiling to soften the peel, the citrons are boiled in sugar syrup; this is done mainly in England, France, and the United States. The candied zest is dried in the sun or preserved for further use in confectionery – fruitcakes, plum pudding, buns, candies, dragees, and lollipops.
Another method of preserving the zest is vacuum drying with subsequent reconstitution when water is added. However, in this case, the aroma of the citron weakens somewhat, and lemon and orange leaves are added to the syrup for making candied fruit.
And Now – A Simple Etrog Jam Recipe.
You will need:
Etrog – 1 piece
Orange – 1 piece
Sugar – to taste
Water.
Wash the etrog and orange, cut them in half lengthwise, and slice very thinly. Remove the seeds. Soak the fruit in water overnight. Change the water and bring to a boil. Change the water again and bring to a boil once more. Drain the water. Weigh the fruit and add an equal weight of sugar. Cook over low heat for 45 minutes, until the jam begins to gel.
Changing the water twice is very important – otherwise, it will be bitter. As for the orange, you can omit it – many even insist that genuine etrog jam is made only from etrogs, with no oranges. And especially no additions of “orange marmalade for thickness” if the gelling process doesn’t satisfy you. Simply call it preserves, not jam – and everything will be fine.
Also, as knowledgeable people informed our site, etrog zest is added for piquancy to meat (for example, when making dolma) and even (in the form of an essence) – to pasta. They say it’s tasty.
But it’s best to make preserves. May everyone have easy childbirths!
