Fruit Maven » Lime http://fruitmaven.com Your guide through the wild world of fruit. Sat, 04 Feb 2012 04:04:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Yuzu http://fruitmaven.com/2011/12/yuzu/ http://fruitmaven.com/2011/12/yuzu/#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:44:37 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=2595 The Yuzu has been the darling of the high end culinary world for quite some time, so I’m not exactly sure why one hasn’t crossed my path before now. What I am sure of, is that I regret it. I should have gotten my hands on these years ago. For one thing, I’m working on an alphabet book of exotic or unusual fruit and Yuzu fits the bill for the Y category perfectly.

For another reason, the cocktail options are absolutely blowing my mind. I mean just look at it. (Sidenote to say that I can’t wait for “the future” to bring us technology with smells associated with pictures. Not to mention the individual flying pods the Jetsons promised me years ago.) The second the fragrance hit my nostrils, I started salivating and heading for the gin. It was only the passing of the garbage truck indicating it was about 8:00 am in the morning that stopped me. Never one to be delayed too long from a new tipsy treat, I came back to it later and transformed this lucky lady in to a drink to die for. Scroll down for the recipe because you aren’t going to want to miss it.


yuzu

APPEARANCE 3.5 out of 5 stars

Golf ball size citrus with bumpy surface ranging from green to yellow. Pale yellow flesh with lots of seeds.

AROMA 5 out of 5 stars

Intense citrus perfume that sings through the room. Smells like every citrus you’ve ever smelled combined in to one. Absolutely intoxicating.

TEXTURE 3.5 out of 5 stars

Plump and juicy.

TASTE 4 out of 5 stars

The flesh is quite sour but less so than a lemon or lime. It has an extremely complex profile with grapefruit standing out the most for me. I took a little nibble of the peel as well and it adds a lively bitter component that I kept wanting.

OVERALL 4 out of 5 stars

This isn’t a fruit you would eat fresh as a snack, much like most of the other acidic citrus you’ve had. The fragrance will knock you out and my mind is simply racing with culinary ideas for it. Next to the Kaffir Lime and the Armenian Tigger Melon, I’ve never smelled anything so powerfully mesmerizing. I’m seriously in love.

FRUIT
Yuzu		 PEAK
Winter		 PURCHASED
Specialty Produce
GROWN
Fallbrook, California

..

YUZU 75

This cocktail is based on my very favorite cocktail of all time: the French 75. The “75″ is a reference to having such a kick that it felt like being shelled with the powerful French 75mm field gun.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 to 1 oz fresh Yuzu juice (depending on how sour you like it)
  • 1 tsp superfine sugar
  • 2 oz gin (I happen to like Hendricks)
  • 5 oz sparkling wine or champagne

Instructions:

  1. Pour Yuzu juice, sugar and gin into chilled cocktail shaker with ice
  2. Shake your heart out
  3. Strain in to glass
  4. Top with champagne
  5. Garnish with a twist of Yuzu peel
  6. Swoon…

    7. ..

]]> http://fruitmaven.com/2011/12/yuzu/feed/ 0 10 Ways to Cook With a Lime http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/10-ways-to-cook-with-a-lime/ http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/10-ways-to-cook-with-a-lime/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:09:43 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=1857 In my world, where I am regularly tasting fruit I’ve never seen before and may or may not know how to pronounce (I’m talking to you Carambola and Rambutan), sometimes I can get bored with the simple pleasures that are easy to access. Limes are one of those basic fruits that I tend to take for granted. Additionally, I find myself with all different varieties and no idea what to do with them. A girl can only drink so many margaritas! So I’ve been branching out. The following list of ideas is geared toward the basic lime, but try them with any of the various limes available and see what you get. You never know.

Bears Lime
Rangpur Limes Limequat Green Seedless Australian Fingerlime
BEARSS LIME & PERSIAN LIME

Basic acidic grocery store limes
KEY LIME

Slightly floral and more acidic than Bearss limes
MEXICAN LIME

Great lime flavor, slightly less acidic

KAFFIR LIME

Extremely floral and exotic, not as juicy
SWEET LIME

Mellow lime flavor, no acidity
RANGPUR LIME

Lime with a hint of tangerine

CALAMANSI LIME

More like a sour orange than a true lime
LIMEQUAT

Extremely astringent, but with a sweet edible peel
AUSTRALIAN FINGERLIME

Sour, crunchy little balls of juice
10 Ways to Cook with a Lime
  1. Squeeze juice onto salted, buttered corn-on-the-cob.
  2. Blend zest with cilantro, garlic, salt and olive oil. Mix into freshly cooked white rice.
  3. Mix juice and zest with chives and stir into softened butter.
  4. Cut in half and squeeze over fresh cut papaya or mango.
  5. Saute shrimp, lime, salt, pepper, and a few chopped onions in a skillet.
  6. Mix juice with an equal amount of triple sec and tequila.
  7. Toss some zest in to shortbread cookie dough before baking.
  8. Make vinaigratte by mixing lime juice with equal part honey, double amount of olive oil and a bit of chopped cilantro.
  9. Sprinkle juice over avocado to prevent discoloring. Mash with garlic and salt for a simple guacamole.
  10. Mix with sugar water – limeade!
]]> http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/10-ways-to-cook-with-a-lime/feed/ 9 Bearss Lime http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/bearss-lime/ http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/bearss-lime/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:08:11 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=1067 If you are the kind of person who ends an insult war with “bounces off me and sticks to you…”, then this is the fruit for you! Bears Lime
APPEARANCE 4 out of 5 stars

Beautiful, rich, solid green skin with translucent green flesh.

AROMA 3 out of 5 stars

Fairly mellow but acidic lime fragrance.

TEXTURE 4 out of 5 stars

Juicy little pockets of flesh. Very often seedless.

TASTE 3 out of 5 stars

Tastes an awful lot like a sour lime, which is what it is.

OVERALL 3.5 out of 5 stars

This is not a particularly complicated piece of fruit and some of you might dismiss it as boring. I mean this is your every day, run of the mill house lime. You can clean with it, cook with it, rub it on your skin to clear your complexion, etc. I’m sure if I googled it more thoroughly I could find all kinds of things that I don’t want to know that you can do with it. But peel and eat it fresh? eh. Probably not. However, I’m feeling benevolent toward the lovely lime today, so I came up with a list of 10 things you can do to cook with limes (none of which are eating them raw  as a snack.) Check it out here.

FRUIT

Lime

VARIETY

Bearss

PEAK

All Year

GROWN

Unknown

PURCHASED

Grocery Store

NOTES

A modification of this basic fruit name (limey) can also be used as a derogatory term for the British, which I do not recommend because seriously calling someone a fruit name just isn’t that creative and if you are trying to be derogatory, you should at least be creative. You lime! See, also it’s just not that mean, which is kind of the point of that kind of word. Step it up people.

]]> http://fruitmaven.com/2010/02/bearss-lime/feed/ 1 Limequat http://fruitmaven.com/2010/01/limequat/ http://fruitmaven.com/2010/01/limequat/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:41:37 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=1427 If you like to leap before you look, then this is the fruit for you! Limequat
APPEARANCE 3 out of 5 stars

Petite (diameter of a quarter); pale yellow skin and flesh with the slightest green tint; lots of seeds.

AROMA 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bright, fresh, lime. Nice and not overwhelming.

TEXTURE 4 out of 5 stars

Thin, giving but firm skin (edible), with soft, juicy flesh.

TASTE 3 out of 5 stars

Crazy sour and extremely astringent. The peel has a nice candied lime taste, but it is overwhelmed by even the smallest amount of juice.

OVERALL 3.38 out of 5 stars

I hate to be harsh toward any fruit, particularly one that is so divine in a cocktail, but this limequat punched me in the face when we first met and I just can’t get over it. I’m not saying it wasn’t my fault, because it totally was. Being the fruit expert, or maven, that I am, I heard the word “limequat” and saw that it was the same size as a kumquat and got extremely cocky about my assumptions of the flavor. I picked these babies up from Specialty Produce (who got them just for me, by the way – walla walla!) and was so excited that when I got to the car and was driving away, I reached into the bag and took a hearty bite right through the skin and into the flesh. Oh my heavens, was I then punished for my confidence. It was the most astringent thing I have ever tasted in my life. It burned my throat to the point that I literally coughed for the next 10 minutes, while my red eyes just dripped with tears. I wanted so badly to laugh at myself, but the convulsions and the fact that I was simultaneously driving 65 mph (precisely the speed limit of course) required that I focus and just try not to hit anyone. Lesson learned: Limequats can be devious.

FRUIT

Limequat

VARIETY

Unknown

PEAK

Fall-Winter

ORIGIN

China

GROWN

Rancho Del Sol
Jamul, CA

PROVIDED BY

Specialty Produce
Specialty_Produce_logo

NOTES

Please just re-read the overall impression above and take the lesson to heart. Fruit is to be respected! Do not underestimate The Fruit. Ever.

]]> http://fruitmaven.com/2010/01/limequat/feed/ 2 Rangpur Lime http://fruitmaven.com/2010/01/rangpur-lime/ http://fruitmaven.com/2010/01/rangpur-lime/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:56:03 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=1351 If your favorite part of Scooby Doo was when the villain would be unmasked to be the kooky neighbor lady, then this is the fruit for you! Rangpur Limes
APPEARANCE 4 out of 5 stars

Looks identical to a tangerine – inside and out.

AROMA 4 out of 5 stars

Strong, floral and perfumy lime fragrance. Almost as complicated as the Kaffir lime.

TEXTURE 4.5 out of 5 stars

Juicy and luscious with very few seeds, if any.

TASTE 3.5 out of 5 stars

Extremely sour, distinct lemon-lime flavor with the slightest hint of tangerine (I concede this may be related to how it looks, but I did try it with my eyes closed just to check).

OVERALL 4 out of 5 stars

This lime is just crazy cool and the devious part of me aches to trick everyone I know into thinking it is a little, sweet tangerine. Oh how I wish these were around during Halloween. Have you noticed yet how much I mention Halloween? It’s not because I am obsessed with the holiday (although maybe a little bit), but more that I am constantly reminded of it. Who knew the world of fruit could be so crafty and clever?

FRUIT

Rangpur Lime

VARIETY

Unknown

PEAK

Winter

GROWN

Rancho Del Sol
Jamul, CA

PROVIDED BY

Specialty Produce
Specialty_Produce_logo

NOTES

Hilariously this “lime” isn’t a lime at all but actually a hybrid between a mandarin and a lemon. It is also known by the names: marmalade lime, canton lemon, mandarin lime and lemandarin. As you might imagine, “lemandarin” is my favorite and I intend to start going by lefruitmaven as often as possible (or at least when I’m not going by “Fruit Maven the Elder“).

RECIPES

Rangpur Lime Punch
Rangpur Lime Hummus (scroll down)

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