'What is this?': Aussie shopper's 'terrifying' find in Coles fruit section

"Don't feed it after midnight and let it get in contact with water."

Hi, it’s me. I’m the Aussie, and I had QUITE the experience at Coles the other day. 

While wandering through the fruit section, I stumbled upon something so strange that it genuinely made me do a double take. 

There, among the regular lemons, was this bizarre-looking fruit that I initially thought was planted there as some sort of prank. 

It looked like a gnarly-looking hand or some sort of sea creature/alien hybrid.

Sitting right in the lemon section, it was priced and labelled like any normal lemon but it definitely was not a lemon.

It even looked stranger than some of the ‘imperfect pick’ lemons I’ve seen. 

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"WHAT THE"

Confused and very curious, I took to my TikTok, @el__everyday (shameless plug), to post about my find. 

I asked, “Sorry Coles, but what is this???” before captioning the clip, “I kind of want to take it home as a pet” – because, as weird and obscure as it is, it’s kind of cute!

The commenters on my post were equally as intrigued. 

One user simply wrote, “HUH,” while another joked, “It’s for all the people who complain about fruit getting thrown out.” 

The collective shock continued with comments like “WHAT THE” and “Okay, I’m scared.” 

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Then one person quipped, “Don’t feed it after midnight and let it get in contact with water,” while others speculated, “it could be genetically modified.”

But one name kept popping up: “Buddha’s hand.” 

So, naturally, I Googled it and sure enough, this beautifully terrifying fruit is called a Buddha’s hand.

PARDON??? Image: Supplied

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What is a Buddha's hand?

A Buddha’s hand is a citrus fruit that originates from the lower Himalayas and China.

It’s full scientific name is Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis, derived from the Greek sarkos and dactylos meaning "fleshy finger."

Makes sense!

Those ‘fingers’ can range from about five to 20+ and are usually formed so that they look like two hands praying, hence the name.

Other times, they’re splayed out like an octopus, like the ones at my local Coles. 

But here’s the kicker: you can't eat it like a regular lemon. 

Buddha’s hand is mostly rind and pith, with little to no juice or pulp. People buy them for their zest, which you can use to infuse flavour into desserts, teas, salads, and even cocktails. 

So, next time you’re at Coles and spot something that looks like it’s about to crawl away, don’t freak out. 

Give it a good sniff, and you may just be tempted to take it home and try it out as a quirky new addition to your meals!

Originally published as 'What is this?': Aussie shopper's 'terrifying' find in Coles fruit section