citrus · bright · herbaceous
75%
Citral content
of the essential oil in C. citratus
1.8m
Clump height
dense tussock in tropical soils
1960s
Thai export boom
fresh stalks enter European kitchens
3 days
Fridge shelf-life
fresh stalks, before the citrus fades
Lemongrass is the dried and ground lower stalk of Cymbopogon citratus, a perennial tufted grass of the Poaceae family, two-stroke cousin of citronella grass (C. nardus) and palmarosa (C. martinii). The spice-rack form is pale greenish-khaki, fibrous, and cut into rings or milled to a coarse powder; it is a distinct product from the fresh stalk, whose juicy base is pounded or bruised into curry pastes. The aroma is dominated by citral, a pair of isomeric aldehydes (geranial and neral) present at 65 to 85 percent of the essential oil, flanked by myrcene, geraniol and limonene -- the same citral molecule that gives lemon peel its snap, only here unburdened by the bitter terpenes of Citrus pith. Two species share the trade: C. citratus (West Indian lemongrass), taller, softer-stalked, the one used in Thai, Vietnamese and Malay kitchens; and C. flexuosus (East Indian lemongrass), leaner and higher in citral, grown mainly for essential oil distillation in Kerala and Guatemala. Culinarily the dried form anchors Thai tom yum and tom kha broths, the Vietnamese pho garnish family, Malaysian and Indonesian rendang pastes, Sri Lankan curry powders and Caribbean bush teas. Because citral is volatile and water-soluble, dried lemongrass gives broths rather than rubs -- simmered, steeped, fished out like a bay leaf.
Tasting notes
citrus · bright · herbaceous
Immediate clean lemon-rind lift and a sherbet-green top note, mid-palate of ginger-adjacent warmth and a grassy verbena body, cool menthol-ish finish with a faint rosy geraniol tail; in broth the spice reads bright and soapy-fresh without the sourness of actual citrus, a signature the Thais call sot -- clean.
Flavor compass
Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, southern India), TH.
The species grown across Kerala, Karnataka and the Nilgiris for commercial essential-oil distillation. Taller, purplish stems with 75-85 % citral in the oil. Used in Indian tea infusions and as the main world source of natural citral.
The culinary species grown throughout Southeast Asia and the Caribbean — thicker pale stems, milder floral-lemon profile, lower citral (65-75 %). The stalk used fresh in Thai tom yum, Vietnamese sa chao and Caribbean herbal teas.
Selected flexuosus cultivar shipped historically through Kochi (Cochin) port — the premium lot for citral extraction used by the global fragrance and flavour industry. Very aromatic stems, deep lemon-candy nose.
Farmers split mature clumps into slips, pushing fresh tillers into warm tropical soil at the start of the rains.
Leaves shoot up to 1.8 m. Oil glands in the sheaths fill with citral under long humid days.
Stalks are sliced at the base; the clump regrows for three to four years before it needs replanting.
Thailand and Vietnam pack bundles of 20 stalks for airfreight to Europe within 48 hours of cut.
For the pantry cut, stalks are sliced into 3 mm rings and shade-dried to keep the citral from flashing off.
Use fresh for the pound of any Southeast Asian paste. Dried rings are for tisane, stock, and slow braise.
The molecules that make it taste like Kampot — and not like anything else.
GC-MS of Cymbopogon citratus essential oil: citral (geranial + neral) dominates, giving the unmistakable lemon-drop top note; myrcene and geraniol pad the shoulders.
1.5%
Essential oil
of fresh stalk base
75%
Citral
geranial + neral
6 mo
Dried shelf-life
in a sealed jar
168 deg C
Citral boils
volatile under long cooking
Sharp lemon-drop — the front door of the aroma.
Softer citrus — rounds the geranial edge.
Herbal, slightly resinous — grass under the lemon.
Rose-citrus — the floral quiet behind.
Orange peel — a quick lift.
Floral, faintly spicy — the aromatic tail.
| Pepper | Citral | Oil |
|---|---|---|
★ Cymbopogon citratus (Thai) West Indian lemongrass · kitchen default | n/a | 1.5% |
Cymbopogon flexuosus East Indian · distillation grade, higher citral | n/a | 1.8% |
Lemon verbena Aloysia citrodora · softer, floral | n/a | 0.5% |
Lemon balm Melissa · green, quickly lost | n/a | 0.1% |
Lemon zest Citrus limon · d-limonene led | n/a | 2.5% |
Kerala, Idukki highlands · est. 1995
“Kerala-based distiller and exporter of Cymbopogon flexuosus, shipping culinary dried stalk and pharma-grade citral oil to Europe, Japan and the US supplement sector.”
MethodsRainfed plantation at 800-1 200 m altitude, three cuts per year, stalks partially dried in the sun then low-humidity finished at 42 °C, oil extracted by steam distillation within 48 hours of cutting to preserve citral. Residues and microbial load batch-tested at an FSSAI-accredited lab in Kochi.
How the world cooks with it.
3 signature dishes
Lemongrass is pounded into nearly every curry paste, bruised into tom yum, and pulled from the bowl before serving. It is the citrus bass-line of Thai cooking.
Hot-sour prawn soup, stalks bruised and simmered with galangal and lime leaf.
Pounded with galangal, chili, and shrimp paste in a stone mortar.
Whole steamed fish, stalks in the belly for perfume.
What it's called, from Phnom Penh to Palermo.
حشيشة الليمون
hashishat al-laymun
柠檬草
ningmeng cao
Lemongrass
Citronnelle
Zitronengras
गंधतृण
gandhatrin
Citronella
レモングラス
remon gurasu
Capim-limao
Hierba limon
Protein
Drink
No. Lemongrass is Cymbopogon, a tropical grass whose sheaths carry citral. Lemon verbena is Aloysia citrodora, a South American shrub whose leaves are softer, more floral, and far less heat-stable. You can swap them in a tisane; you cannot swap them in a curry paste.