Limes Love Lost – Missing Limes From Vietnam
I know, I know. After I returned from my holiday to Vietnam I was supposed be pining for the Vietnamese Green Orange, the cam sánh, with their green thick green skin and sweet dark orange flesh. I will admit that these oranges were indeed nice but to be perfectly honest, I missed limes from Vietnam most.
Perhaps I need to explain. I live in Japan and the price of limes in this country is prohibitive. Up until today, I would never have dreamed of buying a lime in Japan, but I just wanted to prolong my romance with that oh so sweet floral citrus, the lime. I decided to follow this affair to the bitter end by juicing out a few facts about the lime (Do you think that was cheesy? You should have seen the lime-punned Facebook conversation I had).
After a bit of research I discovered that limes are not generally considered a species or subgenus of the Citrus genus. In my simple primary school mind I believed the basic grouping of Citrus were oranges, mandarines, lemons, grapefruit and limes. How wrong I was.
Lime seems to be a generic term for a number of citrus fruit that are green to yellow in colour, generally sourer than lemons and exhibit a floral aroma particularly from the zest[1]. This type of loosely explained definition seems to be pandemic of Citrus classification. As Scora in his 1975 [2]paper, On The History and Origin of Citrus, attests, “much confusion exists regarding the classification of the genus Citrus, and this confusion is not likely to be resolved soon.” The scientific classification, Citrus aurantifolia, seems to be appropriated for the limes however this seems to more strictly refer to the Key Lime species.
The word lime originates from the early 17th century and might come from the Spanish lima or Arabic lima meaning citrus fruit.
nuoc cham with fresh spring roles
One amusing little nugget of information I found was that limes were used for a time instead of other citrus by the British Royal Navy to prevent scurvy. This was because limes were easier to grow in the tropical climates of the Caribbean where the British had many colonies. This is where the pejorative for the British sailor, limey, originates.
As I was researching my way through limes I was beginning to wonder which particular variety of lime I had tried in Vietnam. It seemed that every where I went the same type of lime was used. They all seemed to be small and slightly oval shaped no bigger than a large hen's egg. It had a very thin rind and was incredibly juicy, the combination making it perfect for squeezing by hand into drinks. There were few seeds and the aroma was rich and floral. The taste was reasonably bitter with no oily aftertaste that some limes have. From what I could gather from a few websites[3] this resembled a Key Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) and the most commonly produced lime.
The lime infused Nuoc Cham with barbecue skewers
These limes were used in a number of food and drink recipes in Vietnam. Most notably is the use of limes in their famed dipping sauce nuoc cham. Nuoc cham is a table condiment used as an accompaniment for many Vietnamese dishes. It can be used as a dipping sauce for dumplings, small barbequed meat dishes or spring roll, or it can be poured over fried rice or stir fry. While it seems that every region, every town and every household has their on special recipe for nuoc cham the general ingredients consist of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic and fresh chili. The lime juice blends well with the salty fish sauce and mellows its pungency. The taste is generally light and permissive to other flavours which it is matched.
Equally as pervasive in Vietnamese cuisine is simply a wedge of lime on the side of a plate. I've seen it with pho, grilled meats, stir fry, fried rice, casserole and salads.
One of the most unusual delights I discovered in Vietnam was Lime and Soda[4]. The first time I tried this drink was on an exhaustively hot morning in Hoi An. We were give a glass full of ice, a bottle of soda water, a slice of lime and a small mound of white sugar on a plate. Our guess was that we were to mix the ingredients together to produce the desired drink. The result was refreshing. It was not cloyingly sweet but well balanced with that definite hint of lime.
In the front the basic ingredients for Nuoc Cham, minus the fish sauce
In Hanoi I ordered the drink another time and discovered that this time instead of a small mound of sugar on a plate I had a small mound of salt. The unfortunate thing was that I had assumed that the white grainy thing on my plate was white sugar like the first time only to find out that it was salt when I took a first swig. No, I didn't spit it out but I did need some time to adjust my palate. However once I had, I discovered that the soda, lime and salt mix was not too bad. I didn't prefer it to the sugar mix but it was still refreshing and a little unusual.
My favourite use of limes in Vietnam was not in any particular traditional drink or dish but in my summer drink, the gin and tonic. The extra acidity, that the lime provides, along with the floral aroma, bind well with the juniper bitterness of my gin.
Me with a bowl of Pho and come salad sides including lime.
A little over a week after I returned home from Vietnam I finally surrendered to my lime craving and made a special trip down to the supermarket to buy my expensive lime. It cost me a little over $2.50 USD.
Was it worth it? Well, sadly no. The only lime my supermarket had was a Persian lime produced in Mexico. These limes are not quite a juicy nor do they have the bouquet of the Key limes and its acidity seemed a little lower and left a slightly oily after taste that wasn't to my liking. I guess these are the preferred lime to ship internationally because of their thick durable rind.
The most expensive lime I have ever bought. The Persian in Japan.
So now I sit deflated, missing the limes of Vietnam and a little sleepy from my sojourn into the world of the lime. Perhaps it's time for a refreshing drink.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_(fruit)
[2] Scora, Rainer W.(1975) On the History and Origin of Citrus, Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, http://ww.jstor.org/stable/2484763
[3] http://www.innvista.com/health/foods/fruits/limes.htm , http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/fruits/types-of-lime.asp
[4] Not to be confused with Soda-Lime a chemical used to extract carbon dioxide from the air in confined spaces.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 09:56PM 
