Lemon myrtle vs lemongrass
Both sold as lemon-scented leaf, and lemon myrtle is roughly four times as strong. Substituting by weight is the fastest way to ruin a pot, and it is the most common error with the Australian plant.
botanical
What is being compared
Why these get confused
Both appear as 'lemon' in blend ingredient lists with no indication of relative strength.
Point by point
| Aspect | Lemon myrtle | Lemongrass |
|---|---|---|
| The plant | Backhousia citriodora, a Queensland rainforest tree, farmed commercially only since the 1990s. | Cymbopogon citratus, a tropical grass grown across Southeast Asia and beyond. |
| Strength | The most concentrated lemon aroma in commerce. Half a teaspoon is a large pot. | Assertive but forgiving. A stalk or a heaped spoonful is normal. |
| Flavour | Overwhelming clean lemon with a eucalyptus edge from the myrtle family. | Lemon with a waxy, slightly soapy fibrous quality and a greener base. |
| Form | Dried and cut leaf, and drying temperature is the main quality variable. | Fresh stalks, dried cut grass, or frozen — and fresh is a noticeably better drink. |
| Tradition | Used by Aboriginal peoples of coastal Queensland; the commercial industry is very young. | Central to Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian cooking and to their household infusions. |
The short answer
For a blend, lemon myrtle at a quarter of the quantity does what lemongrass does and does it more cleanly. For a Southeast Asian dish, lemongrass is the ingredient and the substitution will read as wrong.
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