All About Australian Finger-Limes
Have you ever heard of "citrus caviar"? Meet the finger lime. Inside the tube-shaped fruit are pearl-like citrus bubbles with hues of pale green. While finger limes originate from Australia, they have begun to grow in popularity all across the world. Internationally, chefs are using them more and more, intrigued by their delicate flavor, unique texture, and their varying applications in lots of different specialty dishes. This exquisite citrus has mixed opinions such as people classifying it as an “ugly product and that it looks like
if created by a horticultural Dr. Suess,” says Bloomberg.
The citrus is from Australia, where it’s also known as caviar lime. In 1915 scientist Walter Swingle labeled it a “micro citrus” because of its small leaves. It grows on short, thorny trees in the rainforests along the coasts of Queensland and New South Wales.
While the finger lime has been making appearances in the U.S. over the past several years, it’s only recently gone mainstream. “The little bites of lime pop just like caviar, and your mind goes crazy the first time you try it,” says Australian-born star chef Curtis Stone. “From a culinary perspective, they have spread like wildfire.”
At Gem on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Flynn McGarry finishes a raw fluke appetizer with the citrus pearls. “They look really cool and can easily change the flavor profile of a dish,” says the 20-year-old chef. Although citrus is rarely seen in Korean cooking, at New York’s Atomix, Junghyun Park has found a place for finger limes. The chef adds them to a steamed halibut dish with a foie gras and fermented bean-paste sauce.
Finger limes are delicious when paired with seafood. They provide a unique accent in cocktails, salads, and desserts, and are a perfect ingredient for "vegetarian sushi." Their texture is similar to caviar, with that delicate burst or pop of juice, but of course without any fishy flavor.
