I want a Limequat

I want a Limequat

Parks latest seed catalog, page 5:

"Tangy Key Limes--Year Round"

"Wherever you live, you can enjoy fresh Key Limes year-round, at your fingertips! By crossing the Key Lime with a Kumquat, you get a hardier plant that bears fruit year-round! The 'Limequat' bears small, intensely fragrant, strongly flavored Key Limes starting just 6 months after you plant it!
..."

Gotta love those exclaimation points!

Well, a Lime is so tender that I suspect that even crossed with a Kumquat you probably don't get something super-hardy. Kumquats are a good choice for the other parent, tho, because they are already sour and somewhat aromatic. I suspect this is one of those indoor-outdoor patio plants.

Just to review for the folks who didn't read that thread, apparently the two hardy Citrus that have been used for breeding hardiness, namely Ichangs and Trifoliate Oranges, are pure species, whereas most Citrus are complex hybrids. As a result, the Ichang or Trifoliate orange characteristics tend to dominate in the offspring, resulting in Ichandarines, Citranges, Citromellos, and similar crosses tending to have fruit that is barely palatable.

A Lime is NOT an unripe Lemon, such as you find in grocery stores. It is more aromatic. Unfortunately they are also very tender and can only be produced in the tropics. "Key Limes" come from along the Gulf of Mexico in Mexico, not from the Florida Keys anymore, never having been replaced after rare a freeze in the 1920s wiped them out.

I have always wanted to have my own supply of fresh limes. Not for key lime pie, which does not suit me. But I use a lot of lime juice in cooking.

Thai-style Malabar spinach

Oil for frying
Malabar Spinach
Garlic
Fish sauce (substitute soy sauce)
Lime juice

Saute malabar spinach until wilted. Mince the garlic and stir it in. Sprinkle with fish sauce and lime juice.

* * *

Green Papaya salad

1 small fresh green papaya
Hot red pepper (fresh or dried) to taste
Lime juice mixed with sugar in roughly equal proportions
Pinch of salt

Remove rind and seeds from papaya. Coarsely grate it. Stir in lime juice-sugar mixture, red pepper, and salt. Refrigerate about 20 minutes before serving.

* * *

Thai curried vegetables

Oil for frying

Baby Corn
Zucchini
Straw Mushrooms
Sweet red, yellow, or orange bell pepper

Optional coconut milk (not to be confused with coconut juice; this has some coconut fat mixed with it)

Thai red or green curry paste (mixture of peppers, galangal, Lao root, shallots, optionally shrimp paste (some versions without), salt, etc) A 2-person serving takes about a tablespoon if you like it hot, about 2 teaspoons if you are a wimp.

Garlic to taste

Lime Juice
Fish sauce (or soy sauce)

Thai, Cinnamon, or German Basil

Heat oil about 2 minutes on high. Add washed sliced vegetables and saute a few minutes until heated through. Do not overcook. Add minced garlic, curry paste mashed with a little water, coconut milk (amount depends on how soupy you want it), garlic, and fish sauce. Sprinkle with lime juice and stir in basil leaves just before serving.

Tom Ka

Chicken-flavored broth
straw mushrooms
Galangal (prefer fresh; might have to make do with dried)
Fresh Lemon Grass, sliced into 2-inch sections
Coconut milk
Hot red pepper, minced fresh or dried, to taste

Combine preceding ingrediants and simmer until flavors combine.

Add

Shrimp or daufu ("tofu")
Lime juice to taste

* * *
Mock Strawberry Daquiri

Strawberries, fresh or frozen
Lime juice
Rum flavoring

Water or ice to dilute to taste

Liquify in a high-speed blender. Kids love these.

The following thread was started by Rob Wagner on March 30, 2004 at 7:30 pm PST

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Store Bought

I just pick up a mesh bag of key limes at the store when I need 'em. Those recipes look interesting and worthy of a try.

Cheers, Barrie.

The above followup was added by Barrie - Lantzville-Vancouver Isl. on March 30, 2004 at 9:02 pm PST.

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Hardy Limes ?

I have/had two little Lime trees which survived outside under the eave of my Pender Island home all of the 02/03 winter. Last summer we got about a dozen little limes for our Coronas, but I think this last winter may have killed them. They dropped all their leaves and show no sign of growth yet. The trees dropped leaves the previous winter, but not so severely. Does anyone have an opinion on it's likelyhood of survival?.

The above followup was added by Jen on March 30, 2004 at 9:54 pm PST.

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A Lime by any other name

Just to avoid confusion: a "Lime Tree" in the UK is of course what Americans, Swedes, and Germans call a "Linden". Tilia. No relation. Tilias are quite hardy of course but interestingly enough they do have rather strong tropical affinities. Many (most?) of their relations are tropical things like Sparmannia and tender things like Entelia. Tilias are not as common in the USA as in Europe but they are fairly common as street trees in Seattle and some of the suburbs. Their flowers are inconspicuous but strongly and pleasingly fragrant.

Jen, if it survived any winter outdoors it was probably not a real Lime, but what is sometimes called a "Persian Lime" or a "Bearss Lime". I am not sure but I think it is a type of aromatic sour orange used as a Lime substitute in subtropical climates. It is about as hardy as a sour orange and is naturally semi-deciduous. Last winter we did have a freeze that was long enough to put it in jepardy. Is the wood split? Good luck and I hope it makes it.

Barrie, by any chance do your store-bought limes look a lot like small, green lemons? If so, they are small, green lemons. I have never seen real limes sold here in the states (tho I know you Canadians get some things we don't). Real limes are more aromatic, almost perfumey. The fruit is rounder than a lemon, small, and ripens yellow or yellowish green.

The above followup was added by Rob Wagner on March 31, 2004 at 4:02 pm PST.

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Real Key Limes

Rob,

The Key Limes I speak of are abosutely round and are smaller than a golf ball. Thin skinned and very flavorfull. I saw these as a bartenders lime when I used to vacation in Mexico. Here they're available in roughly a 2 lb mesh bag at Canadian Super Store ( a mega grocery store )

Cheers, Barrie.

The above followup was added by Barrie - Las Palmas Norte - Lantzville on March 31, 2004 at 5:35 pm PST.

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That's the one

Maybe the US has an import ban on them that Canada doesn't. Enjoy them. Sometimes we can get lime juice but I have never seen the fruits here, not even in the SE Asian markets.

The above followup was added by Rob Wagner on March 31, 2004 at 7:35 pm PST.

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I have a Limequat and a Key lime.

I can tell you that the flavor is very close. The main difference is the Eustis Limequat produces here in our climate and the rine is thin and edible (like a Kumquat). I've found the true key lime to be very senstive, and the most difficult to grow out of all my varieties.

I purchased my tree from http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com. You will get a nice healthy tree from them.

The above followup was added by Andy Fritze, Maple Valley Wa, 8a on March 31, 2004 at 8:22 pm PST.

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Dropping flowers?

So here's my question. I've recently acquired a limequat and am wondering if it's normal for the plant to drop its flowers. I mean they just fall off after they open like they're too heavy for the stem to support.

The above followup was added by Caitlin on June 07, 2004 at 10:12 am PST.

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