Etrog-Honey Jelly

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I grew up not knowing anything about the fruit called in Hebrew, “etrog,” in Yiddish, “esrog,” or in English, “citron.” I suppose it is the closest thing that any religion I know about has to a sacred fruit. Growing up in a Jewish neighborhood in the Logan section of North Philadelphia, I lived just three houses away from a very famous dynastic rabbi, Tolner Rebbe Moshe Tzvi Twersky. My family was totally secular. My very first memories of the holiday of Sukkot, during which this fruit plays a major role in the rituals, is of followers of the Rebbe coming out of their services in the tiny synagogue carrying the lulav, a combination of palm, willow, and myrtle branches. The accompanying etrog, of which I was never aware, was probably hidden away in a box which did not attract my attention. 

During my childhood, a few neighbors built plywood sukkot, beneath the back stairs of our row homes, that were accessible from their basement doors. They were a mystery to me, and I distinctly remember surreptitiously hanging out one evening, listening to the beautifully-sung prayers, and sounds of dinner being served, inside the sukkah of Cantor Naftali Unger and his family, who lived down the block on the other side of our wide driveway. His beautiful blonde little girl, Shoshana, was a year or two younger than I.

My first real introduction to the etrog was probably as a young married woman, attending Sukkot services for the first time with my husband and toddler-age daughter. I was absolutely intoxicated with the fragrance when I first encountered it, and so enthralled with the whole ritual when I learned about it that I insisted that we build our own sukkah the following year… and every year thereafter.

A superstition about the etrog is that a pregnant woman who bites off the end, or pitom, after the holiday, will give birth to a boy. Worked for me! The pitom must be intact all during the holiday for the ritual, or the etrog is rendered unkosher. Beautiful boxes are available to house and care for the etrog during the holiday, and ours was purchased in Israel on one of our trips there. The etrog never rots, so when I have only one, I save it in the box and have a collection of mummified ones from previous years. The dried up ones still have a trace of that intoxicating odor. It is a fruit that clings to the tree and will dry up, if not picked, hanging on to its branch. Many years ago, I decided to collect everyone’s fruit after the holiday, and turn them into jelly. Whatever flavor and fragrance is in the fruit is almost entirely in the yellow peel. The inside is full of pith and seeds and yields very little juice, so I supplement whatever juice I can get with fresh-squeezed lemon juice. I was very pleased with the results. This year, I remembered to ask about them, and the ritual director, Warren, saved almost a dozen of them for me from which I made a double batch of jelly.

Etrog-Honey Jelly

• 2-1/2 cups honey
• 3/4 cup fresh etrog and lemon juice, strained of all pulp
• 1 Tbsp., or more, grated etrog rind
• 1/2 bottle, or one pouch, liquid fruit pectin (3 ounces)

Finely grate the rind from as many etrogim as you can obtain (you should have at least two).

Squeeze as much juice from them as possible. There is not much juice inside, so add fresh-squeezed lemon juice to equal the 3/4 cup.

Combine honey, etrog/lemon juice and grated rind in a large, heavy-bottomed pot.

Stir over moderate heat until mixture reaches a full boil. Add pectin and bring again to a full, rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for one minute.

Remove from heat and continue to stir for three minutes.

Seal in hot sterilized canning jars.

Makes about 3 pints.