Something new and strange - Buddha's hands

"The natural air freshener."

Daley's Nursery

This photograph was taken in Coles today. Aren't they weird? And neither of us had seen them before or knew what to do with them. They look almost alive. Indeed one description I found was:

"you probably are thinking Monsanto has genetically engineered a cross between calamari and a lemon."

And yes they do look a bit squid like. David wanted me to buy one he was so intrigued, but at $9.00 a kilo I thought I should have at least some idea of what to do with them. One of them had one of those fingers broken off - the one at front left, and it just looked white and pretty solid and not very appetising. Still - tantalising.

So I did my usual minimal research and found that, for one thing, $9.00 a kilos sounds pretty cheap. I forgot to check whether they were Australian or whether they were imported. Apparently they are grown in California but in such small quantities that they cost at least twice if not more than $9.00 a kilo. So obviously not from there. Part of the reason for this, besides lack of demand, is that (a) it takes a few years to get into production and (b):

"before Buddha’s Hand makes it to a vendor, the fruits have to be hand-cleaned with a brush, a process that takes 15 to 20 minutes each, because cleaning the peel with water would cause them to spoil. The labor involved, plus the rarity of the fruit, means that Buddha’s Hand can get a little pricey once it hits stores" Frances Kim - Martha Stewart,com

I should have noticed whether they were grown here or not. I've just checked and there are a few adventurous growers in the far north and Sunraysia who grow them so maybe they have been enterprising and persuasive enough to sell them to Coles. My guess is you probably can only get them at some Coles stores and they would only have a few in each. Though maybe they look so interesting that people will buy them.

I also wondered whether it was just one more symptom of the Asianisation of Australia (which is a good thing I hasten to add - we are in the Asia region after all). The Asian born population of Australia is growing and with it they are bringing their food - as all immigrants do. Which makes it really exciting when going out to eat - the choice is amazing - and also in the food we can buy. It's one of the things I love about Australia - the mix of cultures. We might be one of the first countries to reach John Lennon's coffee coloured dream. And Australia has patches of Asian styles of climate here and there - perhaps excluding the high mountains but pretty much everything else, so we can actually grow all these things here. I must pay more attention to what there is when we are up in Port Douglas later this year.

But back to the Buddha's hand - which is a type of citron. (I think I explained the four groups of citron some time back).

You only eat the rind. The rest is pretty much inedible, and basically you seem to be able to do more or less the same things you would do with lemon or lime rind. Put it in drinks, make marmalade, candy it, sprinkle it into salads and stir fries .... There are lots of ideas on the net. Kitchn has some ideas and links, as does Smithsonian.com so I won't say any more on that now. But do have a look - some of them seemed quite tempting - like making a sort of limoncello with it.

But interestingly it seems the Asians often use it as an air freshener. The smell is divine - they say - lemony with a touch of lavender. In fact I think this is what first attracted David.

“One reads of people carrying Buddha’s-hand citron in their hands or placing them on tables for their strong, delicious odor; of their being used to perfume clothes when pressed; and of washing fine linen in citron juice,” Frederick J. Simoon

Quite a few of those articles on 'what to do with Buddha's hands' suggested putting some in with your wash. Though quite how you get juice I have no idea.

And, probably because of the association with Buddha, they are also very lucky and found at Chinese New Year - they symbolise happiness, and good fortune I believe.

It's very ancient - they think from China but a lot of sites also seemed to think that it was taken into China from India (like Buddha really). And the Romans knew of it too. Diocletian personally fixed the price which was ten times that of melons.

I feel a bit guilty about not buying one - after all if people don't buy then they won't be produced. But then maybe the Asians amongst us will pounce. Which gives me food for thought because Eltham is not very Asian - on the whole it's overwhelmingly Anglo and middle class - but maybe the kind of middle class who like to experiment with food. Maybe Mercers will buy them up and make something fantastically delicious. Still you would have thought Doncaster would have been a better test site. And for all I know it probably is.

I suppose it does look a little creepy but in a strange way rather beautiful.

"looks like a lumpy lemon with fingers and smells like heaven."

K. Annabelle Smith - Smithsonian.com

POSTSCRIPT: I checked and the ones sold in Coles were grown in Australia. Well done, somebody up there in the north and well done for Coles for selling them.