I travelled to a farm in California to roll up my sleeves and learn about limes. It’s always lime time on the farm, since they produce so many different kinds. There are of course Mexican limes, the ones you usually see in the grocery store, and key limes, those small, intense ones that are the central ingredient in wonderful key lime pie. There are Australian finger limes, like citrus caviar, and Palestine sweet limes, so sweet you can eat both the skin and the flesh—and those are just some of the varieties I tried on the farm. Each one is special and has a unique quality for cooking with.
I’m a big believer in simplicity, but there are occasions when mixing the right combination of foods together, and sometimes introducing the odd couple of ingredients, can make for a truly inspired dish. Limes meet chocolate, or limes and beets, or limes with horseradish. Experiment. Play around. Make magic!
