Lemon: The Bright Height of Citrus

“There is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself.” — Herman Melville, Moby Dick “I try all things; I achieve what I can.” — Herman Melville, Moby Dick

When we were experimenting wide and free for new Velvet Honey flavors, lemon was an afterthought. We thought we’d run some tests and put the idea aside. That’s why you run tests. The taste and consistency of Lemon Smooth works in a way that is near indescribable, but I’ll try. I’ll achieve what I can.

The first thing you notice is the buttery smooth texture of Velvet Honey’s small crystalline structure. The taste is a sensory whirl–the sweetness of honey yields to the tart cascade of punchy citrus flavors. In this moment, you’ll realize that Melville was right. Honey’s sweetness is best contrasted with another flavor.

Want to heighten your delight even more? Enjoy Lemon Smooth with people you love. George Vaillant, the long-running director of the Grant Study—a longitudinal study that followed 268 Harvard undergraduate men for over 75 years—summarized their findings as, “Happiness is love. Full stop.” I saw this truth while taste-testing this product with my nephew. The deliciousness of Lemon Smooth surprised us. We wanted to exclaim how good it was. But we wanted spoonfuls more. We laughed at our dim predicament. Bent over with laughter, I looked up at him and drooled. It hit me, happiness is love. Please remember the source of happiness as I and others try to sell you things.

To understand why Lemon Smooth is what it is, let’s tour lemon’s history, botany, and chemistry. We’ll learn how funny Himalayan scrubland trees became a symbol of healthy bodies and other good things. In a bonus article at the end, we’ll learn how lemon’s chemistry points to better balms.

The Lemon (Citrus limon) is a hybrid species resulting from a cross of the citron (Citrus medica), which means “medicinal lemon” and the bitter orange (Citrus x aurantium). Scientists used genetic evidence from the molecular clock, which counts the accumulation of genetic mutations over time, to trace the evolutionary origin of the citrus family to the Himalayan region.

Early peoples domesticated citrus by selecting for size, taste, heartiness, fruit quantity, and a stout tree shape to make harvest easier. After domestication, citrus, including early lemons, spread east along trade routes. Arab traders evangelized the odd fruits. By 1000 CE, lemons reached the Mediterranean through Iran and the Middle East. The spread of Islam into Europe further spread the lemon. Lemon thrived in the subtropics of southern Spain. When Christians reconquered southern Spain, the orchards not only remained, they were prized. Lemon’s value shines bright, even when planted by an invader.

Lemon’s appeal is partly visual. The evergreen leaves are shiny and dark green. They smell good in a rustic way. The flowers are small with white petals and pink and yellow reproductive parts. They exude a sultry scent. Lemons are technically hesperidia, a modified berry with a thick rind rich in essential oils. In small studies scientists have found lemon peel oil improves mood, outlook, and alertness.

But lots of plants have interesting botany and history. Why is the lemon so recognized and loved? In cultures and cherished stories, lemons symbolize healing, abundance, fresh beginnings, and fidelity. We can’t say that about the onion. In Sandy Tolan’s The Lemon Tree, a single lemon tree symbolizes the hope that Jews and Palestinians might live together in a just peace.

Lemons' symbolic power may come from their nutritious and tasty punch.

A handful of naturally occurring acids in varying concentrations give each citrus fruit a characteristic taste. Citric acid is most responsible for the characteristic taste of citrus. Antioxidant vitamins like ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and ascorbyl palmitate (a fat-soluble form of vitamin C) add to citrus taste. Sour tasting malic acid adds puckering sour to some citrus, like grapefruit. All of these flavorful acids serve healthful functions in the body. With citrus, the tasty components and the healthy components are the same.

The vitamins and acids responsible for lemon’s bright taste help protect against damage caused by free radicals. Factors such as chronic stress, exposure to pollution, and a poor diet are associated with increased cellular and tissue damage from free radicals.

Free radicals are molecules that are missing an electron. They are chemically unstable. To become stable, they will "steal" an electron from other molecules, like DNA, lipids, and proteins. In this way free radicals can damage genetic code and cells. Antioxidants defang free radicals by donating an electron. The free radical is now stable and does no harm. The oxidized antioxidant is excreted in urine.

Vitamin C can do two really cool things. Vitamin C can pass the blood-brain barrier and function antioxidatively within your brain. Vitamin C can donate an electron to restore vitamin E to its active form. The restored vitamin E is back in the game.

It is common in wellness marketing to imply the thing I am selling will cure what ails you. That is never true, so let’s provide the helpful, healthy context, also known as the truth. There are lots of antioxidants–vitamin C, E and A, polyphenols, carotenoids, alpha lipoic acid, the nutrients zinc and manganese. Citrus fruits are high in some of these, but not in most. A healthy antioxidant diet prioritizes lots of varied fruits, veggies, nuts, beans.

So there it is, the truth.

But it’s not just nutrition and taste. There is a third thing about lemons. They are so versatile. What else works on dishes as different as dessert and seafood? Maybe lemon is so versatile because it cuts through other flavors–sugars, fats, proteins and spices. If you think of it, it’s rather rare for a flavor to work so well so widely. The only flavor with comparable appeal I can think of outside of the big 5 (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami) is hot pepper.

How do you use DHB’s Lemon Smooth Velvet Honey? How do you not use it? The good folk of DHB have eagerly reported culinary success on experiments as varied as in cottage cheese, tea, as a glaze for meats, with charcuterie or droolin’ spoonfuls. Your imagination is the only limit in your enjoyment of Lemon Smooth. Let us know how it goes.

If you wish to know how the chemistry of citrus leads to better consumer products, read on in our bonus article, Citrus: Making Balms the Bomb(proof).