Type | Liqueur |
---|---|
Country of origin | Greece |
Introduced | 1896 |
Alcohol by volume | 30-40% |
Flavour | citrus |
Kitron is a citron liqueur produced on the Greek island of Naxos. It is made from the fruit and leaves of the citron tree, which is similar to the lemon tree but stronger and slightly different in taste.
Kitron comes in three varieties. The green variety is sweeter and contains less alcohol. The yellow variety is the strongest and has the least sugar. Clear Kitron is somewhere in between.
The drink was briefly fashionable during the early 1980s, but today it cannot be easily found outside Naxos due to a shortage of citron trees.
The first distillery was established in 1896 in the village of Halki.
Citrus is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus Citrus is native to South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and Australia. Various citrus species have been used and domesticated by indigenous cultures in these areas since ancient times. From there its cultivation spread into Micronesia and Polynesia by the Austronesian expansion ; and to the Middle East and the Mediterranean via the incense trade route, and onwards to Europe and the Americas.
Naxos is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abrasives available.
Etrog is the yellow citron or Citrus medica used by Jews during the week-long holiday of Sukkot as one of the four species. Together with the lulav, hadass, and aravah, the etrog is taken in hand and held or waved during specific portions of the holiday prayers. Special care is often given to selecting an etrog for the performance of the Sukkot holiday rituals. The most renowned etrogim in the world are grown in Calabria, the toe of the Italian boot. Thousands of rabbis gather there every summer to select the best fruits.
The citron, historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the original citrus fruits from which all other citrus types developed through natural hybrid speciation or artificial hybridization. Though citron cultivars take on a wide variety of physical forms, they are all closely related genetically. It is used in Asian cuisine, traditional medicines, perfume, and religious rituals and offerings. Hybrids of citrons with other citrus are commercially more prominent, notably lemons and many limes.
Halki is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese archipelago in the Aegean Sea, some 9 km (6 mi) west of Rhodes. With an area of 28 km2 (11 sq mi), it is the smallest inhabited island of the Dodecanese. It is part of the Rhodes regional unit. It has a permanent population of 330, concentrated in the only village Emporio. The 2011 census showed a population of 478 inhabitants. The community is divided in two parts, Chorio and Emporio.
Yuja-cha or yuja tea is a traditional Korean tea made by mixing hot water with yuja-cheong. Yuja tea is popular throughout Korea, especially in the winter. This tea is created by curing yuja into a sweet, thick, pulpy syrup. It does not contain caffeine. It is often sold in markets in large jars and used as a home remedy for the common cold.
Greece produces many food products.
Sweet lemon and Sweet lime refer to groups of citrus hybrids that contain low acid pulp and juice. They are hybrids often similar to non-sweet lemons or limes, but with less citron parentage. Sweet limes and lemons are not sharply separated:
The sweet lime, Citrus limettioides Tan., is often confused with the sweet lemon, C. limetta Tan., which, in certain areas, is referred to as "sweet lime". In some of the literature, it is impossible to tell which fruit is under discussion.
The ponderosa lemon is a citrus hybrid of a pomelo and a citron. It is not the same as the 'Yuma Ponderosa' lemon-pomelo hybrid used as citrus rootstock.
The Greek citron variety of Citrus medica was botanically classified by Adolf Engler as the "variety etrog". This is remarking on its major use for the Jewish ritual etrog during Sukkot.
The Diamante citron is a variety of citron named after the town of Diamante, located in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, on the south-western coast of Italy, which is its most known cultivation point. This is why this variety is sometimes called the "Calabria Esrog". "Esrog" is the Ashkenazi Hebrew name for citron.
The balady citron is a variety of citron, or etrog, grown in Israel and Palestine, mostly for Jewish ritual purposes. Not native to the region, it was imported around 500 or 300 BCE by either Jewish or Greek settlers. Initially not widely grown, it was promoted and popularized in the 1870s by Rabbi Chaim Elozor Wax.
The Florentine citron – citron hybrid of Florence – is a very fragrant citrus fruit, which is named after its most known origin of cultivation. Its scientific name is Citrus × limonimedica 'Florentina' Lush.
Succade is the candied peel of any of the citrus species, especially from the citron or Citrus medica which is distinct with its extra-thick peel; in addition, the taste of the inner rind of the citron is less bitter than those of the other citrus. However, the term is also occasionally applied to the peel, root, or even entire fruit or vegetable like parsley, fennel and cucurbita which have a bitter taste and are boiled with sugar to get a special "sweet and sour" outcome.
The Corsican citron is a citron variety that contains a non-acidic pulp.
The lemon is a species of small evergreen tree in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar, or China.
Lemon liqueur is a liqueur made from lemons, liquor, and sugar. It is light to bright lemon yellow in color; intensely lemony in flavor; clear, cloudy, or opaque; and sweet or sweet and sour. Lemon zest is used, water may be added, and the liqueur is not sour. Milk or cream may be added to make a lemon cream liqueur. Lemon juice is not used to alter the taste and affect the stability of the lemon liqueur.
Citrus taxonomy refers to the botanical classification of the species, varieties, cultivars, and graft hybrids within the genus Citrus and related genera, found in cultivation and in the wild.