Buddha's Hand Fruit Harvesting and Why Buddha's Hand Citron Is So Expensive

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Have you recently strolled down your grocery store's produce aisle and spotted a beautifully bizarre fruit that beckons with long, yellow fingers? This is the Buddha's hand citron, a distinctive citrus that doesn't have the juicy flesh we usually associate with this category of fruit.
These fruits are also known as finger citrus—not to be confused with finger lime—and finger citron. In East Asia, Buddha's hand citrons are associated with bestowing luck upon the home they perfume, and for cooks and mixologists, they offer a refreshingly optimistic scent that infuses liquors, syrups, and teas dramatically.
Buddha's hand is a variety of citron; its full botanical name is Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis, the varietal derived from the Greek sarkos and dactylos meaning "fleshy finger." Those fingers, numbering from about five to 20-plus, are carpels separated into fleshless segments. Sometimes, they are held close together or closed, like a praying hand; other times, they are arranged loosely (picture a squid in jet-propulsion mode) or splayed apart, like a relaxed and corpulent octopus.

Like most other citrus, Buddha's hand is native to Asia. It is thought to have originated in India, before traveling west and east. Citrons are the oldest citrus fruits in cultivation, possibly on account of their very thick skin, which helped them travel well.