Can You Eat Your Etrog?

By The Nosher | October 7, 2015

Well, first thing’s first: what is an etrog?

The etrog is a medium size fruit that sort of looks like a bumpy lemon and is also referred to as a citron. It has a lemon scent and flavor, though it is far less juicy than a lemon. The etrog is an important item used for the Jewish festival holiday called Sukkot. It is kind of expensive to buy and some years it is even more rare due to the weather and farming.

After purchasing such an expensive fruit and using it a few times during the Sukkot holiday, you might be left wondering afterwards: well, now what?

So can you eat it?

Actually, you can eat an etrog, though the preparation may be a little more time consuming than some other kitchen projects. Nevertheless, there are an array of recipes to use up that expensive etrog.

Note: This past year was a shemitah (sabbatical) year in Israel, so if your etrog came from Israel, the etrog is actually supposed to be consumed and not discarded, because edible shemitah produce is considered sacred. Though as JTA recently reported many etrogs this year actually came from Morocco!