True lemon taste test

10 years ago

Subjective of course. I am only comparing tart true lemons. Meyers not tested.

Test subjects Eureka, Lisbon and Santa Teresa. Tasters; myself, hubby and daughter.

Of course, flavors may depend on ripeness and other factors, but these tend to ripen about the same time and they had the same watering and fertilizing. All in containers.

I somehow got the order in the pics messed up. Hopefully you can see the sharpie marks in both.

Me;

Eureka was less acid that the others, more floral over all.

Lisbon very acid and a strong "lemon" flavor, but straight forward, no subtlety.

St. Teresa was also very acid, with mild floral and a (slight) sweet aftertaste.

Hubby;

All very sour, Eureka a little more sweet.

Daughter;

Eureka a little sweeter than the others.

Lisbon and St. Teresa similar. Very lemony flavor, very acid.

So there you have it. A not at all scientific and probably biased taste test. :)

If I was to need a good true lemon flavor any of these would work I think. I think I'd like the Eureka best in fresh eating like lemonade, and the other two probably best in cooking. But so far the St. Teresa is the prettiest tree!

Featured Answer

hobbyartisan (Saskatoon, SK Canada, 2b)

10 years ago

I'm really intrigued by the Italian lemons, can we see a pic of the St Teresa?

Now you have to make limoncello with each variety and see which is best!

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Comments (10)

BarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area
Original Author
10 years ago
Sure, I'll take a pic tomorrow.
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tom1328732
10 years ago
Thanks for the report! Any idea what the next report's subject will be? ;)
BarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area thanked tom1328732
BarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area
Original Author
10 years ago
I'll have to think about that. Lemons are one of the few I have several of and that are mature at the same time.
evdesert 9B Indio, CA
10 years ago
Cool post barb. Gives real life perspective on your lemon's taste. Thanks for sharing.

Evan
BarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area thanked evdesert 9B Indio, CA
uncle molewacker z9b Danville CA (E.SF Bay)
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Thank you Barb, this is excellent! You are making me regret not planting a Eureka. Did you try and compare the zest?

I have my first Santa Teresa sitting on the counter ready for tasting/zesting. I am letting them hang on the tree as long as possible because the Lisbon & Meyers have been ridiculously productive. Its been Lemon juice / infusion crazy here.
BarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area thanked uncle molewacker z9b Danville CA (E.SF Bay)
Laura LaRosa (7b)
10 years ago
Can those varieties be grown in pots? I live in MD and that is my only hope. My Meyers are extremely productive!
BarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area thanked Laura LaRosa (7b)
pip313
10 years ago
Not a fan of Meyer myself but it should be the only lemon tree you need unless you want new Zealand lemonade, the best sweet lemon.

not telling you what to do but with all the mandarins, blood oranges, and pomelo's having multiple sour lemons seems like a poor use of limited space.
BarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area thanked pip313
BarbJP 15-16/9B CA Bay Area
Original Author
10 years ago
Laura LaRosa, All mine are in pots right now, but as I live in CA they all stay outside all year long. I plant to put them in the ground this spring.

But I don't see why you couldn't grow them in pots and overwinter them inside. If you've done that with your Meyer and it's doing that well, I'm sure you could do it with these lemons. Lemons are pretty tough.

Pip, I'm assuming you're talking to Laura here but I'll give my two cents. I like Meyer lemon a lot, but it is a mild lemon flavor. If I want a strong, very "lemony" flavor, I need a true lemon. If I had limited space I'd have both a Meyer and maybe a Eureka or St. Teresa. If one cooks a lot, lemons aren't a waste of space, imo.
pip313
10 years ago
I have Lisbon personally and wish I would have bought st Teresa instead.

its well known I don't like Meyer, its not sour and strong enough to be a real sour lemon. It's not sweet enough to be a sweet lemon. But she has two. A third lemon could be useful. Or the space could be better used for something else. I'm just making sure she thinks it through before committing precious indoor space. In the end it is her choice obviously.