A JOURNEY AD”MEYER”ED

“I am pessimistic by nature, and have not found a road which leads to relaxation. I withdraw from humanity and try to find relaxation with plants. I live now in expectation of what will come.”

Frank Meyer letter to a friend, October 1901

Roughly 3000 years ago a yellow lemon tree named citrus limon met a Mandarin orange tree named citrus reticulata and together they gave birth to a vigorous, fragrantly blossomed, golden fruited lemon tree with fruit slightly sweetened by the hint of orange. In its early life it was valued for its success in container plantings as decorative landscaping and the intoxicating aroma from the numerous blossoms. It was not known outside of China until an intrepid plant explorer by the name of Frans Nicholas Meijer happened across an ornamental offspring of that blessed union growing in the courtyard of a home in Peking, and brought back a sample for cultivation in America. Thus the famed citrus tree got its first taste of fame and fortune in the new world in 1908 with the unremarkable name of S.P.I. #23028, later to be named in memorial as the Meyer Lemon.

In 1901 Frans Nicholas Meijer arrived in America from the Netherlands, and upon his arrival was renamed Frank N. Meyer. He was hired soon thereafter by Erwin F. Smith from the U.S.D.A. to work in plant research at the Santa Ana, California Plant Introduction Station. This was an explosive period in agricultural sciences and exploration. America was investing heavily into crop experimentation as a way to create a more diverse agricultural industry, an evolution of going beyond farming to feed a population, towards farming for profit beyond our borders.

The genesis of this atmosphere towards aggressive agricultural investigation began in 1862 with the signing of the Morrill Act by President Abraham Lincoln. It was to establish a national system of colleges devoted to teaching agriculture and the mechanical arts. Twenty years later President Grover Cleveland reinforced it with The Hatch Act of 1887 promoting farming research by supporting a system of state agricultural experiment stations, mostly connected to the Morrill Act colleges. Then in 1906 the Adams Act was signed by Teddy Roosevelt, which encouraged the experimental stations to transition from local agricultural integration and pest management research to original theoretical research, new species introduction, and hybridization for commercial production.

The American citrus industry was created under guidance from the U.S.D.A. A team of great plant biologists, plant geneticists, plant bacteriologists and agricultural explorers banded together to create a system of acquiring and investigating new species for introduction into the American landscape. They were gaining a more dynamic understanding of the unique problems each species brought while being introduced into strange and new non-native eco-systems.

The team’s understanding of plant genetics was accelerated by the rediscovery of forgotten research by a monk named Gregor Johann Mendel. His theories of plant genetics and inherited traits would later become known as “Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance”. Mendel today is known academically as “The Father of Modern Genetics”. The continuation of his work was essential in the understanding of how to transplant non-native species and evaluate their danger for the introduction of new plant disease.

Herbert John Webber and Walter Tennyson Swingle gave new life to Mendel’s work and focused their efforts and experimentation on the family of citrus varieties and their potential for crop introduction. In 1905 together with David Grandison Fairchild they created an office within the U.S.D.A. named The Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction. The connection to the genetics of Mendel’s work and the road map it provided in understanding the complex world of plant origins and the ability to modify them against disease through selective breeding, all paved the way for the creation of a series of plant introduction farms throughout the U.S. It was the Plant Introduction Station in Santa Ana California that became Frank N. Meyer’s base of operations for his explorations into Asia and Russia. In 1905 David Fairchild hired Frank N. Meyer to work as an agricultural explorer for the newly formed Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction. His mandate was to find new varieties unknown to the western world that would provide esthetic and economic value to the diet and industry of America.

Frank N. Meyer’s first plant collection excursion from 1905 to 1908 would take him into China, Russia, and Japan. The historical timing of his adventures was catastrophic. Russia had just declared war on the Japanese in a never ending conflict over the Korean peninsula. The span of Frank’s thirteen years in Russia, China, and Japan are marked by the tumultuous events of the unfolding powers in the East. Frank’s second trip from 1909 to 1912 was to bring him through the fall of the Qing dynasty after a two hundred and fifty plus year reign. Japan seized upon the weakened China, and developed a western style regimented army and navy in the hopes of conquering the mainland giant. The cataclysmic power struggle between nations, and the escalating military activity did not deter a humble plant explorer who forged ahead seeking new discoveries. The third excursion from 1913 to 1915 puts him in the mouth of the dragon, as Japan flexes its new military might, begins the siege of mainland China, and unfurls their infamous “Twenty One Demands” for the conquered population. Sun Yet Sen emerges as a strong philosophical and charismatic leader of the barely unified China. His “Three Principles of the People” is an attempt to emerge from dictatorships and dynasties into a more democratic, albeit socialist, form of unifying the people. He is ousted militarily during the often shifting sands of Chinese rule during this period, and exiled to Shanghai. Frank N. Meyer’s fourth trip from 1916 to 1918 puts him in South East Shanghai and South of the Yangtze river, during which time the world erupts into the first World War, with America joining the fray “over there” in 1917. Once again Frank finds himself in the midst, this time much closer to the dangers of violent military revolutions. This was to be his last excursion. On a war torn day in May of 1918, Frank was steaming up the Yangtze River on his way home and was found dead in his room aboard the Japanese riverboat Feng Yang Maru. The mystery surrounding his death leaves much speculation about his activities while in a conspiratorial atmosphere around the deposed Sun Yet Sen. His explorations led to the introduction of over twenty five hundred new commercial and ornamental species of plants into the United States.

“Our short life will never be long enough to find out all about this mighty land. When I think about all these unexplored areas, I get fairly dazzled; one will never be able to cover them all. I will have to roam around in my next life.”

Frank Meyer in a letter to David Fairchild, May 1907

But it was to be that little ornamental citrus shrub in the Peking courtyard that was to be his legacy. The rich tapestry of the Meyer Lemon’s discovery and delivery across the Pacific does not end there. Oh, no. The popularity of the Meyer Lemon was immediate for its distinctive soft orange hued skin and fragrant slightly sweet juice with a hint of tangerine. It was easy to grow, compact, and notoriously prolific in its blooming and fruiting.

Now, remember all of these foreign acquisitions are being introduced into experimental farms, and cultivated over a period of time to see how they will interact within a given eco-system present within the various growing regions through out the United States. Once passed through the plant introduction stations, a new species becomes available through nurseries for large scale commercial planting. As interest grew and cultivation spread throughout California, a serious threat to the entire citrus industry was about to teach a grave lesson in the spread of plant disease. The Meyer Lemon tree carried an unknown passenger with it wherever it was propagated and planted. Tristeza Citrus Disease will kill all of the other varieties of citrus trees it comes into contact with. Those that do survive are rendered incapable of bearing fruit. The almost complete global devastation of the citrus industry as a result of the spread of this disease was so disheartening that the Brazilian and Portuguese farmers named the disease “Tristeza” meaning “sadness”. The Meyer Lemon tree brought over from China was a symptomless carrier of this scourge. By 1930 the damage was escalating and all of the Meyer Lemon trees were destroyed in California to halt the spread. As a result, it all but disappeared from cultivation.

But like all great stories, just when the hour is at its’ darkest and the heroine is in peril, the deus ex machina arrives to save the day. In 1946 Floyd Dillon and Don Dillon Sr. were entering into a venture to create a series of dwarf citrus trees for ornamental and casual domestic cultivation. They partnered with Dr. Bill Bitters and the team of citrus researchers from UC Riverside and UCLA to graft and create a series of non-diseased and non-disease carrying citrus trees. After years of experimentation the Four Winds Growers was launched, and their inaugural release was the now non-tristeza spreading dwarfed version of the Meyer Lemon Tree. It was released as the “Improved” Meyer Lemon, and today fifty years later all Meyer Lemon trees propagated in California dwarfed or otherwise are derived from that “improved” mother tree.

Weary citrus farmers were not exactly quick to replant this troublesome little gem and it was once again to be in the middle of a revolution. This time however it was the culinary revolution in the early eighties, brought on by chef’s like Alice Waters from the famed Chez Panisse in Berkeley, who gave the Meyer Lemon a culinary rebirth into the lexicon of dynamic flavor discoveries.

“….to create a community of friends, lovers, and relatives that spans generations and is in tune with the seasons, the land, and human appetites.”

Chef Alice Waters Chez Panisse 1980

By the way Alice, your Meyer Lemon curd recipe for the éclairs in your Chez Panisse cookbook is out of this world.

In the late 1990’s a family distillery in the Napa Valley began experimenting with the Meyer Lemon because its essential oils lent themselves to excellent distillation. The unique process of using fresh organic Meyer Lemons extracted of all of their worldly essence and then purified through distillation down to its core flavor has created an amazing perfume with the alcohol transporting it to your palate. The Domaine Charbay Meyer Lemon Whole Fruit Vodka is made in limited amounts only once a year when the Meyer’s are perfect. Meyer Lemon Drop anyone?

In 2003 a land owner in the Rutherford Appellation of the Napa Valley planted a twelve acre organic Spanish and Italian varietal olive grove. They juice pound after pound of fresh ripe organic Meyer Lemon’s grown just outside of Fresno, set the lemon juice aside, and crush the rinds of the lemons along with the fresh picked olives under the granite wheel, releasing all of the infused flavors together as their extraordinary Round Pond Meyer Lemon Olive Oil. The juice that was set aside is then combined with pure cane sugar and then cooked down into Meyer Lemon citrus syrup. It is not only used as a sweetener for sauces and toppings, but as a flavored syrup base for cocktail recipes. Make a Meyer Lemon Drop with the Round Pond syrup, substitute brandy for the vodka, and you have a Bay Area classic: the Side Car. The simplicity of the Meyer Lemon syrup drizzled into San Pellegrino is a quick refresher as well.

Every year my enthusiasm for the Napa Valley grape harvest becomes the marker for the arriving Dungeness-Crab season soon followed by the citrus harvest. The brightness of the Meyer Lemon with steamed crab and Strauss Family drawn butter against the backdrop of a gloomy cold winter rainstorm is the perfect culinary counter-punch for what ails you. The compact little gem carries 83mg of vitamin C, 3 grams of fiber, and 15mg of potassium in every 22 calorie lemon. I feel healthier just reading about it.

The cultivation of the Meyer Lemon is once again on the rise. Its unique balance of Mandarin sweet aromatics and a zing of electricity from the lemon’s tart acid, is such a prolific player to the pastry chef and savory chef as well. As more and more chefs embrace a more seasonal approach to their offerings, the Meyer Lemon has been appearing on menus by name.

Chef Robert Curry delivers a richly scented Meyer Lemon and artichoke risotto while tucked into the luxury at Auberge du Soleil’s main dining room, or maybe the classic wood oven roasted whole fish with Meyer Lemon and shaved fennel salad at chef Michael Chiarello’s hot new spot Bottega in Yountville, and the finale of a semolina cake with sherried currants and Meyer Lemon mascarpone at the new restaurant and enoteca Elements in Napa.

A lemon that not only serves as a decorative plant, a highly aromatically blossomed plant, a producer of sought after fruit, an inspiration for vodka, olive oil, syrup, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, cocktails, whew! The journey admired from China to America and into our lives. With the aroma therapy of its blossoms and the benefit of its vitamin C, what other citrus fruit can claim to balance you emotionally as well as dietarily? Ladies and Gentlemen I give you the Meyer Lemon. Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon

One sunny spring day on a stroll through St. Helena my wife and I happened across a lemonade stand manned by two young ladies making the greatest lemonade I had ever had. My introduction to the Meyer lemon had been made by the most unassuming of characters. They squeezed fresh Meyer lemons off of the tree ten feet from where I was standing, added to ice cold water and a bit of sugar. The hint of Mandarin orange was delightful as it soften the tart lemon acids. As I sat there enjoying my lemonade I began to wonder who this Meyer fellow was, and the story behind his lemon.

The Meyer lemon was not known outside of China until a plant explorer working for the United States Department of Agriculture happened across an ornamental citrus tree growing in a courtyard in Peking, and brought back a sample for cultivation in California. In 1908 with the unremarkable name of S.P.I. #23028, Frans Nicholas Meijer, an immigrant from the Netherlands later renamed Frank N. Meyer, introduced this little gem into America. It was discovered to be the combination of the citrus limon lemon tree, and the citrus reticulata Mandarin orange tree, giving you a combination of aromatic blossoms, thin-skinned sweet fruit with a hint of orange, and vigorous production, making it a hit for decorative container plantings as well as orchard performance.

Unfortunately when first introduced the Meyer lemon tree carried an unknown citrus disease wherever it was propagated and planted. The citrus disease killed all other varieties of citrus trees and those that survived could not bear fruit. The almost complete global devastation of the citrus industry as a result of the spread of this disease was so disheartening that the Brazilian and Portuguese farmers named the disease “Tristeza” meaning “sadness”. By 1930 most of the Meyer lemon trees were destroyed to halt the spread. In the early1950’s the Meyer lemon was reintroduced for cultivation, by the Four Winds Growers, under the comforting name “Improved Meyer Lemon”. This disease free version has regained its place as one of the great citrus varieties on the planet, and its journey through the multitude of creations it has spawned is no where near its end.

Let me take you on a route through wine country with Meyer lemon creations as our sign posts on the gastronomical pathway. Shall we begin in Santa Rosa at Rosso Pizzeria and Wine Bar for the Meyer Lemon Dungeness Crab Louie Piadine, where the lemon is wedged and eaten skin-on mixed with the fresh local crab and rich dressing? Then it is up to the Seghesio Family winery in Healdsburg for lunch in the Founder’s Room and Fay’s Pan Fried Wild Steelhead with Capers and Meyer lemons with a glass of the crisp Fiano white wine. Over Spring Mountain to the Domaine Charbay Distilley and Winery or “The Still on the Hill”, as it is known by locals, for a bottle of the Meyer Lemon Vodka, a super secret process of macerating pulverized Meyer Lemons to extract all of their earthly essence then distilling them down to their purest form. I recommend it with San Pellegrino and a few Meyer lemon wedges, maybe a sprig of lemon verbena. On to the deck at Rutherford’s Auberge du Soleil, and the epic view of wine country from the restaurant, while we breathe in the steam rising from Chef Curry’s richly scented Meyer lemon and artichoke risotto. Let us walk off lunch a bit and tour the Round Pond Estate Olive Mill in Rutherford, and sample their Meyer lemon olive oil and Meyer lemon citrus syrup. They take the time to slice thousands of organic Meyer lemons and juice the liquid out of each by hand, then crush the rinds with their organically grown estate olives under the one ton granite wheel to produce a beautifully aromatic and versatile Meyer lemon olive oil. At my house the Meyer lemon olive oil is used to garnish a fresh spring sweet pea and yogurt soup with Meyer lemon zest. With the help of the Cowgirl Creamery in Petaluma the lemon juice that was set aside is cooked down with cane sugar to produce the Meyer lemon citrus syrup. Yes, a syrup fit for dessert, but try a splash with the Charbay cocktail above. Our journey is almost at an end, but we must stop into Yountville’s newest hot spot Bottega, where chef Michael Chiarello’s, whole fish emerging from the wood fired oven is joined by the heavenly aroma of the roasting Meyer lemons along side. Exhausted? Just one more stop I promise. We must finish you off with a slice of the semolina cake topped with a zing of Meyer lemon mascarpone at Enoteca Elements in Napa.

Three thousand years to get here, fifty years of cultivation to make it available, one culinary revolution to put it into our brains, and one experience to put it into our hearts. Come take the Meyer lemon journey through wine country, the mustard grass is blooming, and the Dungeness crab is waiting.

Maybe a twist of Meyer lemon with your espresso before heading home?