• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Mad about Macarons
  • Recipes
  • French Food Guides
    • All Guides
    • Market Guide (fruit & veg)
    • Best Paris Tea Rooms
    • Food Travel From Paris
    • Paris Pâtisseries & More
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • French Food Guides
    • Fruit & Veg
    • Paris Tea Rooms
  • Videos
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home • Blog Posts • French Food Guides • Market Produce • Fruit

    Lemons & Limes (Citrons/Citrons vert)

    Published: Sep 9, 2021 · Modified: Jun 10, 2023 by Jill Colonna

    Varieties of lemons in France including the citron de Menton, their benefits, how best to use the zest, and lemon (and lime) recipes.

    In Season

    Available all year round, depending on the variety but Menton lemons are in season all year round. In the Mediterranean south where lemon trees prefer the hotter climate, lemon trees can flower 3-4 times a year, so harvesting can happen throughout the year.

    In France, Limoni lemons are in season between December to May; Verdelli from May to September; Primofiore from October to January.

    The Biggest Lemon Party in France

    France is famous for its lemons from Menton on the Côte d'Azur. They're less acidic than other varieties so if you see them at the market, pounce on them! Les citrons de Menton have been cultivated since 1341 and are today still a gastronomic speciality.

    Since 2015 Menton lemons are protected with the quality category of Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) in Europe. According to the French Ministry of Agriculture, 50 tons of Citrons de Menton IGP were commercialised in 2021.

    Since 1934, at the end of each winter in February, Menton holds its famous lemon festival or Carnaval de Menton.

    Essentially the biggest lemon party in France (if not the world), it lasts 3 weeks and features everything from parades with floats decorated with lemons, spotlighting the producers with workshops and recipe presentations around - you guessed it, lemons!

    bowl filled with lemon juice, squeezed lemons, eggs and another bowl of sugar on digital scales

    Health Benefits of Lemons

    According to Aprifel France, lemons are low in sugar and are a good source of vitamin C and B9 (folic acid), especially in the winter months.

    Lemons also help clean the liver - so drink fresh lemon juice with some water every morning for a seasonal detox.

    To choose the best quality lemons or limes to reap their benefits, pick a heavy fruit with fine skin.

    squeezing lemon juice into jam

    Do Lemons Contain Pectin?

    • Lemons and limes contain a high amount of pectin, which is why lemon juice is generally used as a natural thickener in jam-making. See my recipes for spiced plum jam and apricot jam.
    grating lemon and parmesan into bowl

    How to Use Lemon Zest

    • When using the zest, always pick organic (known as 'bio' in France) and unwaxed.
    • Can't find unwaxed? Clean off wax from lemons with a scrubbing brush in a basin of hot water.
    • To grate lemon zest, grate the yellow or green parts of the skin only and avoid grating the white pith underneath, as this part is bitter.
    • Excellent in savoury dishes too. We love it in:
      - the French classic veal stew, Blanquette de Veau; 
      - lemon sauce to serve with roast chicken (poulet rôti);
      - as a hint in these white asparagus & lemon clafoutis;
      - in a creamy pasta lemon sauce;

    Lemon Recipes

    lemon easter nest cake with chocolate hen on top

    Lemon Cake - this moist French-style cake is made with ground almonds, low in sugar and dribbled with a fresh lemon syrup. Also happens to be gluten-free. This cake is decorated for Easter but it's perfect for birthdays, teatime or dessert at any time of year.

    cup of lemon ice cream with strawberries

    Creamy Lemon Ice Cream - unlike sorbet, this is the creamiest recipe with lush lemons.

    pan of cooked spaghetti, tossed in with cream, parmesan, poppy seeds and lemon zest

    Creamy Lemon Sauce for Spaghetti - this is the most delicious fast food. One of my favourite egg yolk recipes.

    asparagus tart on wooden board in the sun

    Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart - asparagus spears roast directly in the oven on top of this lemon and parmesan cream.

    frying mushrooms onions and preparing a sauce with lemon and yolks

    A French family classic stew of Blanquette de Veau isn't a Blanquette without lemon. Add it at the end to the best sauce for that exquisite flavour.

    eggs, lemon zest, liqueur and ricotta cheese ingredients

    Fiadone is a lemon cheesecake, the classic Corsican dessert you'll find in most typical restaurants in Corsica. With few ingredients, the lemon is an essential ingredient.

    blueberry clafoutis dessert with lemon and yellow edible pansies

    Lemon and Blueberry Clafoutis - why wait just for cherry season with the classic French baked custard? It's delicious with blueberries but the lemon is a must.

    upturned moulded purple dessert with edible flowers, yellow macaron and shiny blueberries

    Still on a blueberry theme, try this French bavarois dessert with lemon and coriander seeds which bring out the lemon flavour even more.

    thin crepe pancakes stacked on a plate

    Last but certainly not least, don't forget to squeeze fresh lemon juice on our favourite French pancakes or crêpes.

    More Fruit

    • bowl of raspberries next to raspberry bushes
      Raspberries (Framboises)
    • stand of pineapples with typical cone-like bodies and green spiky stalks
      Pineapple (Ananas)
    • pile of clementine oranges
      Clementine Oranges
    • box of chestnuts
      Chestnuts (Chataîgnes)
    • Share
    • Tweet
    • Email
    Jill Colonna standing in a French patisserie lab holding a giant whisk over an oversized mixer bowl

    Meet Jill Colonna

    Jill is both Scottish and French and author of the book and blog, Mad About Macarons since 2010. Here she shares over 30 years of experience of living the healthy food life with her French family in Paris - via easy recipes and local food guides in France.

    More about Jill

    Primary Sidebar

    Jill Colonna standing in a French patisserie lab holding a giant whisk over an oversized mixer bowl
    BIENVENUE!

    Meet Jill Colonna

    Jill is both Scottish and French and author of the book and blog, Mad About Macarons since 2010. Here she shares over 30 years of experience of living the healthy food life with her French family in Paris - via easy recipes and local food guides in France.

    More about Jill
    moist banana bread with walnuts and freshly chopped figs

    SEASONAL

    Fall Recipes

    We're warming up for Autumn with easy fall recipes. From healthy family dinners, desserts with apples, to fall soup recipes, enjoy our best comfort foods from France.

    Autumn/Fall recipes

    Reader Favourites

    • high rise cheesy scones piled on top of each other, surrounded by rosemary and spring onions
      Fluffy Cheese Scones
    • fig jam with bread and cheese
      Corsican Fig Jam (Confiture de Figues)
    • oval dish with chicken in red wine and vegetables with a French baguette
      Coq au Vin (Chicken Casserole in Red Wine)
    • tray holding slices of toasted French toast or Pain Perdu in a boulangerie in France in front of baguettes
      Best French Toast Recipe (Pain Perdu)

    SPOTLIGHT

    Apples (Pommes)

    It's apple season! Get the fall of French apple recipes, the best varieties for baking/cooking, along with our fun French expressions using them.

    Apples

    Recent recipes

    • gluten free brownie squares topped with toasted almonds and hazelnuts on a French plate
      Gluten Free Brownies
    • moist banana nut bread made with ripe bananas, chestnut flour and walnuts
      Moist Banana Nut Bread
    • glazed round almond tart topped with toasted slivered almonds, a flower and French macarons
      French Almond Cake (Le Saint-Germain)
    • sweet pastry dough or pate sucree for a tart, pricking with a fork for even baking
      Pâte Sucrée - Sweet Pastry for Tarts
    pink restaurant in Paris Montmartre with fall leaves

    FOOD TRAVEL GUIDES

    Paris Food Guides

    Your sweet DIY online guide to Montmartre. With the best bakeries, pastries, chocolate and a little history.

    Sweet Montmartre
    pink cover of patisserie recipe book Teatime in Paris by Jill Colonna

    EASY FRENCH PASTRY RECIPES

    Teatime in Paris

    Get Jill's easy pastry recipes. From éclairs, tarts, macarons, to mille feuilles. Step-by-step baking techniques with many of the Parisians' best bakeries that make them.
    A must gift for all budding bakers and Paris-loving Francophiles.

    Get the book
    shiny little macaron cookies in a Paris store

    LOCAL GUIDES

    Best Macarons in Paris

    Want to try the best French macarons in Paris but mad at choosing?
    As a local for 30 years with 2 macaron recipe books, I’ve tasted a LOT to help you out!

    Top 20 Macarons
    blue recipe book cover for Mad About Macarons

    BESTSELLER

    Mad About Macarons

    Scared to make the first move to make macarons? Jill shares all the tips and step-by-step instructions in her bestselling recipe book (also in Dutch, Spanish and Hungarian). It has inspired many now-professional macaron bakers since 2010!

    Get the book
    Paris map Mad About Macarons

    BIENVENUE

    Newsletter

    Love good French food and the healthy lifestyle? Stay connected with the free newsletter from Paris.

    Sign Me Up

    Footer

    Jill Colonna logo Mad About Macarons
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
    • Twitter
    • Recipes
    • About
    • French Food Guides
    • FAQ
    Contact
    Newsletter

    Copyright © 2010-2023 Jill Colonna

    Terms and privacy

    • Share
    • Tweet
    • Pin
    • Save
    • LinkedIn
    • Email