I needed just a squeeze of juice, but it seemed a shame to waste the two beautiful halves of the lemon picked just minutes earlier. Preparing to pucker up, I picked up a half and tentatively sneaked a taste. Hmm. The lemon was bright, lively and juicy with just the right amount of tartness, a little spot of sunshine on a still-winter March evening.
Meyer lemons are like that, lemony but not too acidic or tart. After years of failed lemon-growing, I’ve apparently stumbled onto the secret. Buckets and buckets of rain have produced a modest crop on the ungainly little tree that resides in my backyard. I intend to enjoy each and every one, whether I’m sneaking them out of hand or using them in the recipes you sent in response to Vicki Gutgesell’s request.
Gutgesell, of Oakland, wondered if she needed to decrease the sugar when using Meyer instead of Eureka lemons in baked goods. Barbara Baksa of Fremont offers this reassurance. “I use Meyer lemons and Eureka lemons interchangeably in recipes with no adjustment of the sugar content,” says Baksa, who grows both types. “While it’s true the Meyers are sweeter — and they have such a nice scent, I don’t think they are so much sweeter that you have to adjust the sugar. They are still lemons.”
Another Plates reader also skips any adjustments. Accompanying this column is her favorite use for lemons, a vintage lemon pudding cake recipe. “The pudding is on the bottom and a lovely light cake is on top,” she says.
Plates regular Linda Sue Liu uses Meyer lemons in her beloved lemon bars. If you want folks to clamor for the recipe, try Liu’s secret technique. She dusts the bars with additional powdered sugar about 12 hours after pulling them out of the oven.
Maureen Kawaoka does adjust the sugar when she bakes with Meyer lemons. “I love, love, love my Meyer lemon tree and the consistent supply of lemons it produces,” she says. “I decrease the sugar by about ¼ cup when using Meyer lemon juice in baked goods to maintain the tart, tangy flavor, which tends to get lost when using the full amount of sugar called for. I find that it does not compromise the finished product.” But, she adds, “I am one who cuts ¼ to ½ cup of sugar in most fruit breads and muffins anyway with no compromise in quality.”
Kawaoka’s new go-to lemon bar recipe comes from a A Taste of Home cookbook, which adds ¼ cup chopped macadamia nuts to the typical crust and sprinkles another two tablespoons on top of the filling before baking.
