Citrus for cooking – the chef’s citrus fruits

Citrus for cooking, or chef's citrus, are selected for their culinary qualities: aromatic zest, tangy juices, surprising flesh or fragrant leaves. Plant these shrubs for their flavours, their softly scented flowering and their decorative fruit.

With its divinely fragrant zest and juice, yuzu flavours sauces as well as desserts. In Thai and Réunionese cuisine, the leaves and bark of makrut lime are used as condiments. Fish and seafood lovers will find delicious little tangy pearls beneath the skin of finger lime that burst in the mouth. Buddha's hand citron, recognisable by its long "fingers", is mainly grown for the rind of its fruit, which can be grated or candied.

Your terrace or garden can accommodate these citrus plants with exotic flavours. Tender species are grown in pots and spend the winter in a bright, cool, frost-free place. Among our hardy citrus, some can be planted in the garden. And if you enjoy cooking with freshly picked lemons, our lemon trees produce juicy fruit to harvest at home.
For full details, see our complete guide "How to plant or repot a citrus plant in a pot?".