Thursday, December 18, 2008

Monster in the grocery aisle

Went to the grocery store to pick up some stuff last night and found this in the fresh vegetable section.



My first reaction was "Ewwwwww!" before I whipped out the cell phone and snapped a couple of pictures. It had the texture and color of a lemon. A label slapped on the thing told me it was Buddha Hand.

Wikipedia offers more pics and some very interesting tid-bits:
The fruit may be given as a religious offering in Buddhist temples. According to tradition, Buddha prefers the "fingers" of the fruit to be in a position where they resemble a closed rather than open hand, as closed hands symbolize to Buddha the act of prayer.

The origin of Buddha's Hand is traced back to Northeastern India and is believed to be the first citrus fruit known in Europe. It is speculated that the Greeks and Romans brought them back from Asia.

7 comments:

Choxbox said...

Interesting!

Sujatha said...

Didn't you want to taste it? Maybe you should, despite the strange appearance. :)

Nino's Mum said...

gross... but very interesting:) so did you pick it up? what did it taste like?

Sujatha Bagal said...

Sujatha and Nino's mum, in the interests of furthering human kind's understanding of nature and its bounty, I shall buy it, taste it and report back to you. :)

Unknown said...

I used to be a citrus fanatic, and collected seeds from every variety I could find. At one point I had oranges growing in my apartment, but they never got very large.

I had heard of a Buddha's hand, but have yet to see one in person. Awesome looking fruit!

I would have pounced on it, although not all citrus taste the same. :0)

Looking forward to your report!

Welcome back to the US, but still be careful talking Kannada in shops... :0)

JOHN :0)

John Steventon said...

Hi Sujatha,
Me again! i finally found, played with, and bought a Buddha's hand. It has a lovely aroma, and it is said you can use it in salads (although parts can be bitter). We cut it in small pieces and boiled it in sugar water, similar to candied ginger. The kids loved it in small batches. :0)

Sujatha Bagal said...

Yay! So glad you tried it, John! Mighty tickled that you remembered it after all these years. I hope you are doing well.