Finger lime: what rare and very expensive citrus caviar looks like (7 photos)

It turns out that delicious caviar is found not only in salmon and sturgeon fish, it also grows on trees.





This amazing fruit called finger lime is shaped like a jalapeño pepper, but inside the fruit there are tiny pearls with a bright citrus aroma and taste. It is for this similarity to fish caviar that the fruit is also called lime caviar, or caviar lime.



Caviar on a plate is the fruit of citrus trees

Finger limes are native to the rainforests of Eastern Australia. Probably, this fruit would have remained in the Australian tropics if not for haute cuisine. Finger limes are popular in Michelin star restaurants, with the fruit garnishing some dishes. The taste buds go crazy when a person first tries another Michelin-starred masterpiece: the eggs burst right in the mouth, giving the dish an unsurpassed citrus aroma.





In fact, finger limes are not very different from regular limes or lemons: their taste is described as something in between. There are several varieties of these fruits, some of them are more aromatic and resemble lemongrass, others taste closer to pomelo. So why replace famous fruits and spend crazy money? Everything is very simple - for the sake of effective presentation.



The cost of finger lime is indeed very high: since it grows only in Australia, its price reaches three hundred dollars per kilogram. In the last decade, lime caviar has become so popular that even special farms have appeared to grow these wonderful fruits outside the small continent: in France and California.



However, you can’t just buy caviar lime at the market: all the fruit is supplied exclusively to restaurants. And besides, is it worth paying a lot of money for an unusual type of fruit and getting a pomelo or lime taste? But in the masterpieces of Michelin-starred establishments, such caviar is a completely different matter.



The chefs, as one, claim that when creating the next masterpiece, lime caviar is one of the central elements. It is she who awakens the dish and is able to surprise the client. That is why establishments are willing to pay extra money for this explosion of taste.



Amazing fruits come in a wide variety of shades: the thin skin can be light green, deep brown, red or even black.

Inside, the eggs are not connected to each other like fish eggs. And, oh happiness, there are no holes from which it would be necessary to painfully peel the lime pearls. The peel itself is also actively used in cooking: it is dried and ground, turning it into an expensive spice. True, the yield of these palms, on which the unusual fruit grows, is very low, and not all finger limes are suitable for sale: many do not ripen. This also affects the price of fruit.