[Sca-cooks] Lemons? Limes? Confusion? otsisto at socket.net Mon
Jul 7 00:45:57 PDT 2008 take with grain of salt (note I tried to
tinyurl but the website seems to be having problems) "Limes are
a smallish fruit which belong to the plant family Rutaceae
(citrus family). They are similar to lemons but generally
smaller and have a fresher taste and a more aromatic smell. The
whole of the plant is used for culinary purposes i.e. the juice,
skin (pericarp), pulp in some cases the leaves and the fruits
are usually picked and used when unripe (green). When fully ripe
the fruit are yellow. Origin and History The Lime is a native of
the East Indies and has spread all over the world in tropical
and near tropical regions. Here we are going to concentrate on
the three best known varieties used in cooking. Mexican lime
Arabian traders introduced it to North Africa and the Near East
towards the end of the 10th Century AD and it was in turn
introduced the Mediterranean by the Crusaders during the 12th
and 13th Centuries AD.