Buddha’s Hand Citron Vodka
This buddhas hand citron vodka was one of our first recipe posts back in 2008. It’s fun to see how our photography and garden has changed over the years!
What is Buddhas Hand Citrus?
You really need to get your hands on one of these, no pun intended. Behold, one of the most intriguing, beautiful and aromatic citrus of the world – The buddha’s hand citron or fingered citron. Most of you probably already know of this squid looking, rind tentacled fruit. For those of you who don’t, it’s hard to believe that it’s even a citrus fruit at all. Doesn’t it look like a multi -fingered hand?
This buddha’s hand is one of the oldest citrus in the world and oddly enough, has no juice or pulp. The citron family of citrus fruits normally have very little juice and the buddha’s hand is part of this unique category of citrus. What citrons lack in juice, their rinds make up in powerful fragrance. They’re superbly aromatic with concentrated lemon citrus smells. Buddha’s hand smells F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S! We feel so lucky to have a thriving buddhas hand tree in our garden.
A green buddhas hand on our tree and a ripe one ready for making the infused vodka.
The zest alone can perfume a room with a bright, beautiful, clean scent. For food, the buddha’s hand rind can give the same citrus nuances to enhance sauces or dressings. Because of the lack of fruit pulp, the powerful citrus flavors of the buddhas hand citron are wonderful in tea’s and other dishes that benefit from infused rinds. There’s 5 beautiful buddha’s hands that we have to play with and we’ve got some goodies lined up to share. But today, appropriate enough, we’re investing one of these amazing buddha’s hand citrons in a vodka. How could we not? Infusing this powerful scented buddha’s hand citron in some vodka means there’s going to be some great cocktail recipes in our near future.
How to Make Buddhas Hand Vodka
Buddha’s hand citron vodka is so easy to make, there really isn’t much of a recipe. Infuse the rinds in vodka for about 30 days and have fun with some fantastic cocktails! Follow our simple photo tutorial!
1. Start with a buddha’s hand. Clean as best as possible from dirt.2. Slice “fingers” lengthwise and wash again to remove dirt.
3. Remove as much white pith as possible, leaving fragrant rind…
…separate white pith from rinds. Discard the piths.
4. Insert rinds into clean bottle or jar. Fill with vodka. Infuse for about 30 days, then remove the rinds and strain the vodka to remove any excess citrus tidbits or debris.
Beautifully citrus infused vodka makes great gifts.
Check out our Cocktail Recipes Here and our Complete Whiskey Guide.
Hi… where do I find the drinks? I just bought the Buddha’s hand
Hi Peggy,
Thanks for asking. We’ve yet to create a cocktail with it which has really wowed us using the Buddha’s hand. If you find one or come up with one, we’d love to hear about it.
We love using the Buddha’s hand zest in a vinaigrette or candying the fingers.
T
Wow! I’ve never even seen this fruit..I wonder where I can find one? Your photos are very good.. I like the ones of you chasing her, and also the finished product. It’s very pretty to look at. Kudos.
-Sylvia
What a great fruit. I just purchased a 4 foot plant on clearance for $10.00 at my local home improvement center. They have plenty more. The store is located in Lakeland, FL.
I am going blind looking for recipes for this delicious fruit.
I have several growing on a tree in a container. I have one that I have been keeping in my fridge and just used some of it for the first time in a shrimp dish that called for lemon juice. All I can say is… WOW!!!
This oddity is soo much better than a regular lemon. I am obcessed with turning it into a lemon curd or lemon pie. So far I have hit dead end on the net. Can anyone help me.
I will gladly reward one of the ripe hands for a kick butt recipe for the above.
I found a buddha’s hand at the San Francisco Ferry Building farmers market and thought I could make a nice infused vodka with it. I searched online and found your page as my inspiration. I just assembled the bottle full of vodka and citron but the only problem is I don’t know if I can wait 30 days!
Hi Phil, I am just now getting around to joing the White on Rice blog altho I’ve used some of their recipes in the past. W/R/T the Buddah’s Hand infusion. I have never infused mine for more than about a week. Much longer and, in my opinion, it’s way over the top.
I have to tell you, I was at my local garden center and saw a dwarf version and bought it! All because I had seen it here first. I can’t wait to get the first fruit. Thanks so much for the post. Any growing tips?
are these valuable?
Emily, In northern California and the Bay Area they are currently selling for $5 to $6 each for ones that are about 6″ long, no blemishes and no light green on tips– so completely yellow like a nice lemon.
my neighbor has that plant in his backyard, and i was hella wondering what it was.
I saw it at Whole Foods just the other day … and almost bought it, but after I had no answer to the husband’s “pray, tell what are you planning to make of it” I kept it back. Now, I can’t wait …
Hey cool! Can we do an infused vodka tasting? I’ll bring my crab apple and Vietnamese cinnamon (yours!) infused vodka!
Wow! What an absolutely incredible fruit! I’ve never seen this before. How interesting too that it has no juice or pulp. I love your idea of putting it in vodka too, its genius!!
Oh! I saw these at Whole Foods the other day and thought “I can’t buy that terribly expensive thing just because it’s cool. I don’t know what to do with it!”
NOW I know what to do with it!!
I think the lemon tree in my backyard is related to these guys. I swear, I get some of the funkiest shaped lemons, and a lot of them resemble fingers.