Lime tree in my garden
Posted on 03-28-10 · Herbs in my garden Tags: fruits
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One of the most oft forgotten principles of cooking is that it pays to begin with the best quality ingredients. No matter how good your salad dressing is, for instance, if your vegetables are wilted, your salad will still look and taste awful. Then, there is an article that differentiates between the quality of line-caught fish and net-caught fish that says line-caught fish are much better than net-caught fish. For the average consumer, it’s not like we always have the luxury of choosing what’s best or what’s most ethical. Most times, the first consideration is affordability. We buy the most reasonably priced available food items. That’s the reality.
In my case, I try to grow what isn’t always available in the market. I also try to grow what I find too expensive in the market. Like lemon. And lime. I have a lemon tree that’s growing quite wonderfully, I have a kaffir lime tree that looks like it will finally survive and thrive (two other kaffir limes died) and I have a lime tree that already bears fruit.
The lime fruits on the tree in my garden are rather small though. I don’t know if it’s a strain issue or soil issue. Well, the size is secondary to me. The important thing is that the tree didn’t die, it is growing and it is bearing fruits.
Why lime? Kalamansi, the native citrus, is available all-year round in markets and they are not expensive at all. Well, it isn’t exactly true that a citrus is a citrus is a citrus. Different citrus fruits have varying levels of acidity. The aroma differs from one fruit to another too.
Lime is usually sweeter than lemon and kalamansi and the rind has floral notes. It is used extensively in Thai, Vietnamese, South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. Even the leaves are sometimes used as ingredient.
At home, I like adding slices of fresh lime to my drinking water and as an alternative to lemon when I brew a pot of tea. My husband uses lime to mix mojito. I use freshly squeezed lime juice to make salad dressings and dipping sauces. When my lime tree is mature enough to bear fruits every day of the year, I’m sure I’ll discover many other uses for the lime fruit.
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I find lime to have a lighter citrus scent than lemon. Even though I love lemon scented fragrances, I associate them too much with dishwashing soaps now =(. And out of kalamansi, lemon, and lime, I like the pairing of lime and patis more.
“Even though I love lemon scented fragrances, I associate them too much with dishwashing soaps now”
And furniture polish. And floor disinfectants.
LOL Kalamansi will have the same effect soon.
I am so lime green envy!
I hope mine bears fruit soon.
As with the kaffir lime, the trick seems to be — leave them alone and stop peeking everyday hahaha
Mexicans are fond of lime.They always have slices of lime when they eat;on their menudo,tacos,
slices of fresh fruits,salsa,etc.
One popular salad dressing in a Thai resto here is their Spicy-Lime dressing.
I have been trying to grow both lemon and lime trees for years now.Finally, one has survived but has yet to bear fruits. I think you are right about leaving them alone, but I can’t help it! I’m so eager to see the fruits of my labor, pardon the pun
I used to be like that with the kaffir lime. I’d inspect it everyday, counting the leaves hahaha
I’ve always considered Calimansi the best of lemon and lime….its my favorite…
I really love lime juice! It makes me feel refreshing. I already tried the Cheesy Chili Lime Gold Potato Wedges Recipe. The lime, chili powder, and Monterey Jack cheese give a Mexican flair to a gold potato wedges. It taste good!
A friend of mine uses calamansi in their soy sauce. They eat fried fish and a dip of soy sauce with a slice of calamansi. It makes you eat more than your usual diet. I also use this in my tea instead of lemon. For me the calamansi is more sour than the lemon.