Throughout history, citrus was a coveted fruit in society. In his book Enquiry of Plants, the philosopher and Aristotle’s successor, Theophrastus, wrote of citrus’ breath freshening properties. In ancient Mediterranean cultures (and several centuries before making it to Western and Asian regions), citrus was rare to harvest, expensive to buy and as a result highly prized. Later on, during the late 19th century, Louisa May Alcott referenced the social symbolism of lemons and limes in her classic novel, Little Women, when one of the March sisters, Amy, was pining for limes to indicate her wealth, despite her family’s financial struggles during the war.
