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31 May 2009

Wine me, dine me, finger lime me


These gorgeous things are becoming my new obsession. They are called finger limes and may well be the sexiest citrus fruit ever. I mean, just look at them! Their exquisitely elongated form echoes the shape of the banana and cucumber, those pedestrian fruit more traditionally associated with the erotic arts. However, when the skin of the finger lime is ruptured, all these sap-filled vesicles come bursting forth, an aromatic explosion of lime-tastic goodness. Am I crazy, or does that sound like a near-perfect description of culinary orgasm?


As you can tell from the scientific name,
Citrus australasica, the finger lime is native to Australia. It's a thorny tree almost 10 m in height, endemic to subtropical rainforests from northern New South Wales to southern Queensland. The genetic diversity latent in finger limes is evidenced by the huge number of varieties known. The peel colour is very variable and ranges from yellow to green, burgundy and almost black. Beat that, banana skins! The pulp also varies from palest pearl to deepest ruby, with each colour having a unique flavour all its own.


Finger limes are making real headway into the fancy restaurants and boutique grocers of the world, but I'm yet to find one of these tangy beauties anywhere near where I live. In the meantime, a boy can dream, can't he? They can be used in any dish that calls for conventional limes, and are particularly suited to seafood dishes or those with a Southeast Asian influence. With those zesty vesicles shimmering like salmon roe, it's no wonder they've been called 'rainforest caviar'. Imagine some of these added to your favourite after-work drink: instant jungle-style sophistication. Finger limes are especially prized in the world of molecular gastronomy. Ferran AdriĆ , chef of the fabled
elBulli restaurant on the Spanish Costa Brava, was apparently moved to tears by his first experience with finger limes.

That's okay: many people cry after their first time.

Citrus pr0n credits: top © El Aderezo; middle © Stuart Cohen; bottom © D.T. Pearson.

11 comments:

Angela said...

Near perfect, indeed.

Unknown said...

Hi,

Good to see the fruits of the east are making there way all over Australia, if you are interested take a look at what we have been doing in the Hunter Valley with our Finger Limes.

http://tiliaris.wordpress.com/

Unknown said...

Hi Angela! Nice to see you around these parts!

Thanks for stopping by, Warwick! I must agree, the Tiliaris blog is definitely worth a look for anyone interested in finger limes!

Chris Eldin said...

My friend, you need to write scripts for high-end restaurants. I think I need a cold shower now...
(plus, can you find those in the US?)

Unknown said...

Haha - glad you enjoyed this, Chris. I'm sure finger limes are out there somewhere - probably most likely to see them in the bigger cities, though.

twanji said...

Food pervert! he he. They really are beautiful. I'll be sending a jet and my assistant over to collect some.

Marie said...

Jeepers. I've never seen them and thought the pictures were staged. This has kicked the other things on my To Find list down a rung...

All Over said...

Oh. My. God. They look like a Cardassian delicacy served on the Starship Enterprise. Very sexy.

Bonbon Oiseau said...

what the? i have never heard of these and now suddenly i may never leave your blog, found via marie. love it. thank you.

boskind said...

hi..
hoe kry ek jou in die hande? ek wil jou asb iets vrae..

Donald's Garden said...

I've never heard of these! Can't wait for one to explode in my mouth! ! ! ;)