Monday 30 April 2012

Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Limes?

Yesterday we had a busy day including a trip to the neighbours to harvest some citrus.

The previous owners had planted a mandarin, an orange and a lime about 10 years ago and had had their chicken run built around them.  Well at ten years old and well fertilised these trees were going gang busters.

Our current neighbours wanted to lift the canopy of each of the trees and were happy for us to come and pick all the fruit off the pruning instead of it going to waste.

So what should I do with 22 kgs of Limes?
I will be making some lime cordial, some Indian lime pickle and some sweet treats.... lime meringue pie, citrus tart, lime spice syrup cake this list goes on.
But if you have any ideas/recipes please let me know.
Yes that is a laundry basket overflowing with limes.
There is also 5kg of mandarins and 11 kg of oranges but these will be a little easier to manage.

I have promised my neighbour some home made goodies in payment for all the fruit and he is happy with that  but I am pretty sure I got the better end of the deal.

12 comments:

  1. I also visited a friends garden cnd came away loaded with oranges and lemons. Made some marmalade, and orange peel vinegar cleaner. I have also been juicing the lemons and freezing them in the ice tray then transferring them into a ziplock bag so I can grab one if I need some lemon juice. Indian lime pickle is also an idea - I had forgotten about that.

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  2. Everytime I get some limes I make ginger beer or ginger ale. But I suppose that is only sensible if you also have ginger! I also freeze the left overs for next time I have ginger....

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    1. We are not ginger beer drinkers, in fact I am not sure I have ever drunk it as an adult.

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  3. There is a lemon butter (curd) recipe on my blog Fiona, it is delightful using limes instead and will last 12 months on a shelf (in the fridge once opened)
    cheers:)

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  4. Wow...what a harvest...so lucky you are! I have never really made anything to special with limes so love seeing all this inspiration...loving the sound of Molly's lemon butter with limes!I do a lot of freezing of lemons and juice too so perhaps that is another option! Good luck...please share your creations!!

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  5. I made mandarin marmelade...the pips are a pain, but the result is magnificent...you could make the limes into marmelade with the oranges too , I am sure....also the home made cleaner with all the lime peel would be lovely....

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    1. Suzanne I will make some marmalade even though we do not really eat it that often. I think not sure which fruit, but I promised my neighbour I would make him some.

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  6. I make lime pickle - I have a really nice recipe for an Indian type oil based lime pickle on my blog. It's so good we get through a bit of it over a year, and it makes a great gift. I also make lime cordial, not that we drink cordial much but it mean I can make Asian style marinades and dipping sauces - anything that has both lime and sugar in it (like for Thai fish cakes, or Vietnamese rice paper rolls) - when limes are not in season. Which is good because it always seems to be those summery recipes that call for lime juice.

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    1. Linda I will check out your Lime Pickle recipe. My hubby loves it so much he even puts it in toasted cheese sandwhich's. We managed to get through a 4 litre tub of Ferns lime pickle last year and now the challenge is on to make a similar version. I like your cordial idea, we don't drink a lot but I like it very diluted.

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