The Land Where the Lemons Grow by Helena Atlee

Lemons and all things citrusy have been a career long obsession of Helena Attlee. The Land Where the Lemons Grow is a sort-of memoir of the garden historian’s quest to collect knowledge about the fruit cultivated in Italy’s landscapes.

You might think 247 pages of lemons might get a bit repetitive and on occasion Atlee’s mission is greeted with bemusement.  ‘Ah, the signora who wants to talk about lemons” says a guard to her outside the Boboli Gardens, in Florence. However, the little yellow fruit has a curious and bizarre set of family members which Atlee also gets to meet. Blood oranges, sour oranges, citrons, bergamot, esrog and budda’s hands are all part of the lemon family tree and all have a distinct heritage and unique properties.

The purple flesh of blood oranges, for example, is rich in Vitamin C and can help weight-loss - despite a person’s diet! Beragmot oranges are known as “green gold” and the oil they produce is highly valued by the perfume industry. While esrog, a yellow citron, is lovingly harvested every year for the Jewish community who accept only the purest and unblemished crop.

I wish I had this book when I was last in Italy. It is an excellent piece of travel writing. Atlee discovers botanical museums, gardens and festivals which celebrate citrus and she helpfully provides a list of in the back pages. Up until now I had not heard of The Battle of Oranges, a “food fight” which takes place every year in Irvea and has its roots in the town’s medieval past.

The fascinating history behind citrus is also related in a light and tantalising way. Franciscan monks grew potted trees in their monasteries, British naval sailors had lemons added to their daily rations while the next time I add lemons to my shopping basket I will be thinking about how the Sicilian mafia formed in order to control the thriving island’s lemon trade.

Finally the culinary uses of citrus are obviously an important part of the story. Recipes for pasta, cocktails, salads, cakes and candied peel make up segments of the book’s chapters and Atlee skilfully describes intense bittersweet flavours that fizz on the tongue.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a piece of lemon drizzle cake, drinks hot water with a slice or is partial to a bit of limoncello. The book has deepened my understanding of the fruits which speckle the landscapes of Lake Garda, Sicily and Calarbria and Helena Attlee is the perfect tour guide.