Meyer lemons: the conventional lemon’s floral cousin.
Typically believed to be a cross between a mandarin orange and a lemon, the Meyer lemons we eat today have little in common with the original plant brought over from China by agricultural explorer Frank N. Meyer in the early 20th century. Today’s supply stems from the one healthy stock that survived a virus in the 1960s, which single-handedly wiped out most of America’s citrus farms. Meyer lemons are prized for their sweet juice (less acidic than that of conventional lemons), thin rind and floral scent.