Buddha’s Hand : A Salute to the Fruit

An  unusual fruit caught my attention at the supermarket the other day:

It is called a Buddha’s Hand, and it is a member of the citrus family.  I am usually excited to taste-test new fruits and vegetables, but the $8.99/lb. price made me reconsider.  I am glad I postponed my purchase, because according to an article in the LA Times titled “Buddha’s hand citron: like lemon, but zestier”, the fruit has:

no juice, no pulpy flesh and just a mild-tasting white pith. The appeal here is all in the highly aromatic rind: The fingers of the fruit can deliver eight times the surface area for zest compared with other citrus.

So a Buddha’s Hand fruit would not have satisfied my appetite, but I will keep it in mind the next time I need a lemon zest flavor…especially if it is on sale!