Citrus show-offs

Which desirable citrus picks are the most deserving of bragging rights? Toby reveals his top of the fruity pops

WHEN showing off, my tip is to work boasts casually into conversation. “This old thing?” I might posit, while slicing into a wheel of cheese. “It’s just a sword gifted when I accepted my knighthood.” Along with the tiddlywinks trophy and turnip prize, any interesting edibles offer excellent bragging rights, especially if they’re a challenge to grow.

Top of the most-coveted list are citrus made fashionable by well-heeled Victorians, who then built elaborate orangeries to grow and show them off. My unheated greenhouse is far more modest, but it makes a good home for lemons, limes and oranges that are now fruiting better than ever, thanks to 2018’s halcyon summer.

The most easy-going of these is the calamondin orange. However, rather like a citrus Napoleon, it’s short and so bitter that the mini-me oranges are only edible in preserves. Mine is planted by the greenhouse door, where its relatively thorn-free branches don’t get in the way of the tap.

Like roses, citrus are thorny customers but instead of short, curved barbs – as on a briar – theirs are shaped like needles, making them difficult to see and infinitely more dangerous, especially when you’re reaching into the crown to pick the fruit.

Beside the calamondin, I have a kaffir lime – a must for lovers of Thai coconutmilk curries. It’s the most rewarding of the citrus – the scalloped foliage is used like bay leaves for flavouring, and is far easier to produce than the knobbly fruit. Go into any Thai restaurant, and kaffir lime is the first thing you’ll smell, as the delicious, floral aroma of the leaves invariably fills the air.

Finally, in the corner (and reaching for the roof), I have a Meyer lemon. It’s the hardiest lemon of the lot – so much so that a friend grows one in a sheltered spot in his garden, where it’s in flower and bearing fruit for 12 months of the year! The pith is thicker than on shopbought equivalents, but so what? They are perfect for drinks, so are ideal for sharing and showing off in a G&T! Make mine a large one…

“The best are citrus made fashionable by Victorians”

The kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix), which is as prized for its leaves as for its fruit Top of the most-coveted list is the calamondin (Citrus x microcarpa) The orangery at the National Trust’s Osterley Park and House