Lemon essential oil, sometimes called "liquid sunshine," is cold pressed from the peel of Citrus limon. It is thin, pale yellow, and smells sharp, bright and fresh.
Plant details
Lemon (Citrus limon) is a small evergreen citrus tree in the Rutaceae family. The trees take about six years to reach their full size of ten to twenty feet. They may begin bearing fruit as early as the third year after planting, and full crops can be expected by the fifth year.
Lemon trees need full sunlight and do best between 55 °F and 70 °F. They are more sensitive to cold than other citrus trees and can go dormant below 55 °F. The leaves are oval, dark green and serrated at the edges. The flowers are white with four to five petals and grow singly or in small clusters. The fruit is oval and turns from green to yellow as it ripens. Ripe lemons are highly aromatic, and the oil glands can be seen dotted on the peel.
History
The exact origin of the lemon is unknown, though it is thought to have first grown in the Assam region of India, northern Burma or China. The name is thought to derive from either the Arabic "laimun" or the Persian "limun," which both mean "citrus fruit." The tree is considered a cross between the bitter orange and the citron.
Lemon trees were first grown for decoration, with the fruit left on the tree, and were often seen in early Islamic gardens. Later they were cultivated for the fruit. Lemons are thought to have reached Europe in the time of ancient Rome, in the second century, and Persia and northern Africa over the following five hundred years. The first substantial cultivation in Europe began in Genoa in the middle of the fifteenth century.
Christopher Columbus brought lemon seeds to Hispaniola on his early voyages. Spanish conquest spread the trees through the Americas. They were growing in California by the eighteenth century and in Florida by the nineteenth. A run of severe freezes in the late nineteenth century dealt a heavy blow to the commercial lemon industry, and it was mostly abandoned. Demand for juice concentrate and essential oil brought a revival of lemon growing in the 1950s.
Extraction and aroma
Lemons grown for essential oil are hand-picked when they reach their full size of around two to three inches. They are often picked green and continue to ripen and turn yellow on the way to the production facility. The oil is extracted by cold pressing the fruit peels. It can take nearly one thousand lemons to produce one pound of lemon essential oil.
The oil has a very thin viscosity and is pale yellow to yellow. The aroma is a sharp, bright, fresh citrus. Lemon oil can sensitize skin to UV light, so it is properly diluted in any product that stays on the skin.
How makers use lemon
Lemon oil is used in household cleaners and room scents, where it leaves a clean, refreshing smell. In the recipes below it is blended with sweet orange, frankincense and rosemary in a diffuser, with lavender and peppermint in a kitchen cleaner, and with ylang ylang in a roll-on.
Recipes
Lemon, Orange and Rosemary Diffuser Blend
- 3 parts Lemon Essential Oil
- 2 parts Sweet Orange Essential Oil
- 2 parts Frankincense Essential Oil
- 2 parts Rosemary Essential Oil
The original recipe uses about 0.45 mL of oil in total.
Fresh Kitchen Cleaner
Ingredients
- 16 oz Amber Glass Bottle with spray top
- 8 oz Water
- 4 oz Distilled White Vinegar
- 3 oz High Percentage Alcohol
- 15 mL Liquid Castile Soap
- 0.5 mL Lemon Essential Oil
- 0.5 mL Lavender Essential Oil
- 0.25 mL Peppermint Essential Oil
Instructions
Add the alcohol, vinegar and essential oils to the spray bottle. Mix the castile soap into the water and slowly add this to the bottle. Mix well. Spray on kitchen surfaces and wipe down.
Lemon and Ylang Ylang Roll-On
Ingredients
- 10 mL Amber Glass Roll-On Bottle
- ⅓ ounce Fractionated Coconut Oil
- 0.25 mL Lemon Essential Oil
- 0.25 mL Ylang Ylang Essential Oil
Instructions
Add the essential oils to the bottle. Fill the rest of the bottle to the top with fractionated coconut oil. Replace the rollerball and cap, shake gently and apply to the wrists.
Find the oil used in these recipes here: Lemon essential oil.
