Buddha's Hand substitute

Best substitute

Lemon Zest

Use the same amount by volume of grated zest; zest of 2-3 lemons per Buddha's hand fruit as the buddha's hand you are replacing

Best for cakes and shortbread

Different taste

Because Buddha's hand is used only for aroma, lemon zest is the working substitute: use it 1:1 by volume of grated zest, or the zest of two to three lemons in place of one fruit for an infusion or a batch of candied peel. Meyer lemon zest is closer still, since it shares the soft floral quality. If a recipe asks for Buddha's hand juice, the recipe is mistaken, because the fruit has none.

Other buddha's hand substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Meyer Lemon Zest
Close match
Use the same amount by volume of grated zest
A lemon-mandarin cross whose peel is softer, sweeter and gently floral, which is the closest common fruit to the character people prize in Buddha's hand.
What changes
Best for
infusions and syrups, cakes and curds, candied peel, cocktails, roast chicken and fish
The best substitute available in an ordinary shop when it is in season, roughly December to April. It has the perfumed quality that regular lemon lacks, though it is still more acidic-smelling and less exotic. Meyer peel is thin, so you get less zest per fruit than you expect.
3Candied Citron
Close match
Use the same amount by weight where the recipe calls for candied Buddha's hand; reduce the recipe's sugar slightly
The sweetened preserved peel of the ordinary citron, sold everywhere for fruitcake, and botanically the closest relative of Buddha's hand.
What changes
Best for
fruitcake and panettone, biscotti and cannoli filling, mincemeat, sweet breads
The right answer specifically when the recipe wants the candied product rather than fresh zest, because Buddha's hand is most often candied anyway. It is already heavily sweetened, so cut a little sugar elsewhere, and commercial citron is often blander than home-candied peel, so add a teaspoon of fresh lemon zest to wake it up.
4Yuzu Zest
Different taste
Use the same amount by volume
A Japanese citrus with an unusually perfumed, slightly piney and grapefruit-like peel, and a comparable aromatic intensity.
What changes
Best for
spirit infusions, syrups and sorbet, dressings and marinades, desserts, finishing salts
Matches Buddha's hand on sheer fragrance, which lemon does not, but pushes the flavour towards pine and grapefruit rather than floral sweetness. It works beautifully in a gin infusion and slightly oddly in a Western fruitcake. Frozen yuzu zest is widely sold and is fine here.
5Lemon Zest Plus Orange Blossom Water
Different texture
Use 1 tbsp lemon zest + ⅛ tsp orange blossom water for every 1 tbsp Buddha's hand zest
A rebuilt version that adds back the floral top note that plain lemon is missing.
What changes
Best for
cakes and cookies, syrups, custards and panna cotta, poached fruit, sorbet
Closer than either ingredient alone, and worth the small effort in a delicate dessert where the perfume is the whole point. Orange blossom water is powerful and turns soapy fast, so start with a few drops. Not suitable where the recipe needs solid pieces of peel, since it adds liquid and no substance.
6Bergamot Zest
Different taste
Use the same amount by volume, or slightly less
The Earl Grey citrus, with the most floral and perfumed peel of any commonly sold fruit.
What changes
Best for
infusions and liqueurs, custards and creams, marmalade, shortbread, sorbet
Wonderfully aromatic and in the right emotional register, but bergamot has a bitter, tea-like edge that Buddha's hand does not, and it becomes medicinal if you overdo it. Use a little less than the recipe states. Its winter season is short and it is not always easy to find.

What is Buddha's Hand?

Buddha's Hand is Buddha's hand, also called fingered citron or bushukan, is a winter citron that grows as a cluster of yellow finger-like segments and is made almost entirely of fragrant peel and mild white pith, with no juice and no pulp inside.

Cooking tips

Slice and use the whole fruit, pith included. This is the one citron whose white pith is not bitter, which is why recipes have you cut it into rings or matchsticks rather than fussing with a microplane over the coloured layer.
One fruit yields a great deal of peel and not a single drop of juice. Expect several tablespoons of zest or a good jar of candied peel from one hand, and never plan on it for acid: keep lemon or lime in the kitchen for that job.
It is at its best in things that extract aroma slowly: vodka or gin infusions, syrups, candied peel, or grated into sugar or flaky salt. A citrus salt made this way keeps its perfume for months, which is a good way to use a whole fruit before it dries out.
It keeps on the counter for two or three weeks and will scent an entire room while it sits there, which is a large part of why people buy it. Refrigerate it only if you need longer, since the cold dulls the aroma.
The aroma is delicate rather than powerful, so it disappears in anything strongly flavoured. Put it in shortbread, custard, panna cotta or a clear spirit, not in a spiced fruitcake where you will never find it again.

Frequently asked questions

Does Buddha's hand have any juice?

No. It is essentially all peel and pith with no pulp and no juice sacs at all, which is what distinguishes it from every other citrus in the shop. If a recipe asks for its juice, treat that as an error and use lemon or lime juice for the acid while using the Buddha's hand for aroma.

Is Buddha's hand the same as citron?

It is a variety of citron, the same species as the etrog and the ordinary citron used for candied peel, but mutated so the fruit splits into finger-like segments. That is why candied citron is a sensible substitute in baking, though fresh Buddha's hand is more floral than a plain citron.

Can I substitute lemon for Buddha's hand?

Yes, using the zest, at roughly the same volume, or two to three lemons per fruit. Accept that the result will be sharper and more straightforwardly lemony, missing the soft floral perfume. Meyer lemon zest, or lemon zest with a few drops of orange blossom water, gets meaningfully closer.

Can I eat the white part of Buddha's hand?

Yes, and you are meant to. The pith is mild and faintly sweet rather than bitter, so the whole fruit gets sliced thin and used, which is unusual for a citrus and is one reason it candies so well.

Can I just leave Buddha's hand out?

In most recipes yes, since it adds fragrance rather than structure, moisture or acid, so the dish will cook and set the same. The exception is something like Buddha's hand vodka or candied Buddha's hand, where the fruit is the recipe; there, use a couple of lemons or a Meyer lemon and make the honest lemon version instead.

Related substitutes

More fruits substitutes

Buddha's Hand substitute

Other buddha's hand substitutes

2Meyer Lemon Zest

3Candied Citron

4Yuzu Zest

5Lemon Zest Plus Orange Blossom Water

6Bergamot Zest