The Largest Lemon Ever Grown Weighed as Much as a Bowling Ball

Could you imagine holding a lemon the size of a bowling ball? That’s just how the farmer behind the largest lemon ever grown must have felt. On January 8, 2003, Aharon Shemoel grew a world-record-breaking lemon on his farm in Kefar Zeitim, Israel. This lemon weighed 11 pounds, 9.7 ounces, or 5.265 kilograms. 

Shemoel’s lemon has been recorded as the heaviest lemon in the Guinness World Records for over two decades now. It had a circumference of 29 inches. This wasn’t Shemoel’s only supersized citrus, though, as this lemon grew alongside another large lemon, although it wasn’t of the size to break any records. 

How Large Do Lemons Grow on Average?

There is some awfully large fruit in the world. Take the jackfruit, for instance, which can grow to be over 22 inches long. However, when we think of large fruits, we don’t often think of lemons. That’s because lemons the size of that grown by Aharon Shemoel are a rarity.

The average lemon is only around two inches in diameter. They tend to weigh around 4.2 ounces, although this more commonly ranges from 3 ounces to 4.9 ounces. This means that it would take around 43 average lemons to weigh the same as the largest lemon ever grown!

Other Supersized Citrus Instances

Although Aharon Shemoel’s lemon is currently the largest lemon ever grown, it isn’t the only lemon to tip the scales. Prior to Shemoel taking the world record for the largest lemon, the title went to another lemon. 

In 1989, Wiltshire College & University Centre’s Lackham campus produced an extraordinary lemon. This fruit weighed 10lb 9oz. In 2022, a mother visited a produce stall in Chippenham, Wiltshire, where she was able to purchase a lemon grown from this very same tree. The purchased lemon was larger than her child’s head, and it weighed a whopping four pounds.