This years Taming of our Lemon Monster

[Cappy]

Things are kind of slow of late so I thought I'd share with yall our annual lemon harvest. It aint exactly back country adventure but the tree is outdoors and our home and yard is our base camp. At least it's something to read before we hit the trail.

http://cappyandpegody.blogspot.com/2016/02/lemony-pickins-series-of-unfortunate.html

Thats the whole thorny story complete with pictures and a video starring yours truly.

 

[dinosaur]

Lemons: The single best fruit to use in the making of dandelion wine.

 

[Cappy]

We made lemon extract or lemon infused vodka what ever ya wanna call it I called it delicous.

 

[dinosaur]

Yes, vodka does mix very well with lemon juice. And rum in orange juice is pretty tasty too. But vodka in lemon juice is best for a sore throat. You can even heat it for a toddy. Yummy stuff.

 

[Cappy]

We make or hot toddies with honey lemon and a splash of water, heat it till like hot coffee then and a shot of whisky or rum and drink it hot. It sooths ya throat warms your chest and taste lots better than medicine.

 

[Cappy]

The pint jar is the lemon peels soaking in vodka. In the blue pan is the lemon peels taken from the jar and dried in sugar to lame lemon peel candy an amazing snack and used to garnish the lemon cocktail shown.

 

[jason]

What type of lemon tree do you have?

 

[Cappy]

ours is Meyer lemons
they grow huge and prolific. I think their is a new improved meyer lemon tree now but the old original does great for us. If ya thinking about putting one down initial advice is they don't like wet feet make sure ya plant it where water does not stand even in a heavy rain. We learned that the hard way.

 

[jason]

I will have to look for them. I forget what I had before, but they were good. Could eat them off the tree they were so tasty.

What other fruit/citrus trees you got up that way?

 

[Cappy]

Citrus we have meyer lemon, ruby red grapefruit, naval orange, louisiana sweet satsumas, and kafir lime. Other fruit trees we have a yum yum nectarine, a dwarf olive and a dwarf pomegranate, fig, the two loquat plums that I mentioned else where and 2 paw paws When ya mix in pecan trees, oak, birch, a pine tree, and several big lagustrums and other shrubs all in less than an acre ya see why I push mow way too many obstacles and narrow places for anything bigger.

 

[dinosaur]

Personally I don't care what kind of lemons you got. Give me some sugar and yeast and I'll make booze out of trees. You haven't lived till you've had Sassafrass wine. Tasty stuff and settles your tummy at the same time.

As long as you can remember the basics and not allow air to get to the liquid you are fermenting, you can make some very interesting sipping water. And if you know the temperature where alcohol boils, you are good to go on distilling; not that I would ever do that.

 

[jason]

Citrus we have meyer lemon, ruby red grapefruit, naval orange, louisiana sweet satsumas, and kafir lime. Other fruit trees we have a yum yum nectarine, a dwarf olive and a dwarf pomegranate, fig, the two loquat plums that I mentioned else where and 2 paw paws When ya mix in pecan trees, oak, birch, a pine tree, and several big lagustrums and other shrubs all in less than an acre ya see why I push mow way too many obstacles and narrow places for anything bigger.

I am guessing when you say paw paw you are not referring to papaya? I have heard them called paw paw before that is why I am asking. I thought paw paw was more of a berry.

I never had much luck with my pomegranate. A tenant left me a fig tree in a big pot about two months back. Was thinking of keeping it around.

 

[jason]

Personally I don't care what kind of lemons you got. Give me some sugar and yeast and I'll make booze out of trees. You haven't lived till you've had Sassafrass wine. Tasty stuff and settles your tummy at the same time.

As long as you can remember the basics and not allow air to get to the liquid you are fermenting, you can make some very interesting sipping water. And if you know the temperature where alcohol boils, you are good to go on distilling; not that I would ever do that.

I know nothing, but will say make sure you toss the first shot or so that comes out. And usually the last.

 

[Grandpa]

There used to be an old timer hanging out at the local pop shop. He was a very colorful character with many stories to tell during long winter months. In addition to being a dry farmer, he was the local agent for a large metal shop in the city, setting up stills during the prohibition era. With wheat as his major crop, his normal response to the question, "how's the crops this year?" was "Oh, running about seven gallons to the acre".

 

[Cappy]

I know a guy.........yea das the ticket I know a guy who has a still and it occasionally creates assorted distilled liquids Its a frankenmonster born of a beer keg and home made cooking tower with 2 stages if you use 1 stage it makes lil less than 100 proof sipping liquor. If hyou run it with both stages it makes pure alkyhol. It can only be run in the winter cause our err his water gets too hot to be efficient the rest of the time.

 

[dinosaur]

I thought paw paw was more of a berry.

Actually a Paw Paw is known as the Northern Banana. It is a cold hardy tree that produces a fruit about four to six inches long shaped like a paw and tastes similar to a banana.

There you go, Jason. Now you can amaze your friends with more trivial knowledge.

 

[Cappy]

We found a variety of Paw paw that is posed to be heat resistant and able to grow down here. Been having them for several years and tehy are nice lil trees. They flower like crazy but only produce 2 or 3 fruit at the most. I wonder if they are male or female both of them or something. The only few fruit we have had mature are delicous and kind of textured like banana and taste similar.