Yuzu Lemon, Citrus Junos

Yuzu lemons, a highly popular and often esteemed citrus in East Asian countries like Japan and Korea, is quite interesting on second glance. Though it’s called a lemon, it’s actually a cross between two entirely different citrus trees (the papeda and the mandarin), producing a mandarin-shaped fruit with warty (like the papeda), yellow (like the lemon) skin; its name, “yuzu,” is often confused with the Chinese word for pomelo. Whatever the case, this tree, with its thin leaves and thorns, produces a fruit that’s both surprisingly tart and iconically floral, making them quite important in certain cuisines.