Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumHave you a favorite fruit you like to cook with?
My favorite is: THE LIME
.. the emerald of the tropics
of trade inflicted the disease on sailors, brought the lime back
to Europe. One of my own ancestors, Denis de Verteuil, took
part in one of those remarkable religious adventures. Though
he and his companions failed to liberate Jerusalem, I like to
think he was one of the pilgrims who returned with a few lime
seeds tucked in his armour. Not the best source of Vitamin C,
the lime, however, is a natural sea traveler as it keeps a long
time and does not bruise easily. Though some Captains
recognized as early as the sixteen hundreds that those of the
crew who quenched their thirst with limes were healthier, it was
not until 1795 that the juice became compulsory on all British
ships. The practice that gave the Englanders the nickname
Limey was still in force in 1955, the last year I myself served
on one of the old Empire's ships.
Dr. Henry Perrine, physician-botanist, planted the first Florida
lime trees on Indian Key where he had gone to conduct
experiments in tropical fruit growing in 1835. The Doctor
was killed by Indians five years later, but his family survived
by hiding in a turtle crawl beneath the burning house.
THERE ARE A HUNDRED AND ONE USES FOR A LIME...
Use the juice, grate the peel or plant the seed and grow a tree.
Slice it, wedge it or quarter it. Here are just a few ideas:
Of course, use lime with tea, iced or hot
Serve lime wedges with Florida oysters on the half shell.
Squeeze juice on oyster before eating.
Lime juice preserves the color of avocados, mangos, bananas
and apples; enhances the flavor of melons and papayas.
A generous dash of lime juice in a cup of beef consomme,
adds excitement to an old stand-by.
The afficianado imbibes tequila ritually with salt at the base
of the thumb and a wedge of. lime held gallantly between
thumb and forefinger. One licks the salt, tosses off a shot of
the cactus liquor and sucks the lime, all in one easy, fluid motion
Rub fish with lime before cooking.
Put a slice of lime pierced with a whole clove in the bottom of your tea cup,
Put a dollop of slightly thawed limeade concentrate over your bowl of breakfast berries.
Float very thin slices of lime in clear soup.
Squeeze lime juice over melon balls and top with shredded
coconut for a palate pleasing end to a luncheon.
Before broiling chicken, wash in water to which lime juice has been added.
from "Maurice's Tropical Fruit Cookbook"
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/maurices-tropical-fruit-cookbook_maurice-de-verteuil/14184230/#edition=15034350&idiq=35871591

Attilatheblond
(6,721 posts)Together, yes, in same pie. Unbelievably delicious!
justaprogressive
(4,731 posts)We have good apples where I live.
Attilatheblond
(6,721 posts)We are close to the world's best green chilies where I live. Maybe a swap is in order come fall!
justaprogressive
(4,731 posts)I'm pretty much on the "right" coast...
Still, 12 apples *fresh from a tree should be doable on my end..:
dried chiles are a lot lighter! hi:
*by fresh I mean picked that day by me.
Attilatheblond
(6,721 posts)and I really can get apples here. There is a big orchard a few miles north.
justaprogressive
(4,731 posts)let alone dried
I'm sure you can get fresh apples...but
a dozen Northern Spy Apples are something else again.
Attilatheblond
(6,721 posts)justaprogressive
(4,731 posts)
Attilatheblond
(6,721 posts)Many grocery stores let 'roasters' set up in parking lots to roast our bulk purchases. Traditional Hispanic families will gather to peel roasted chilies and prepare them for storage. It comes just ahead of their big family tamale making parties where generations gather and prove that many hands make for light work. It's a blast!
justaprogressive
(4,731 posts)so much mouth pain, so many endorphins released as a result of their hard work.
Wish I could see it.
(I'm serious)
Kali
(56,330 posts)Seems early, but husband got 15 lbs. I don't usually restock the chile freezer until September. Will get more later.
Raven123
(6,869 posts)And bananas - but not together!
justaprogressive
(4,731 posts)
Beat me to it
Retrograde
(11,199 posts)and sausages, onions, and tomatoes. The peaches weren't quite ripe, so they didn't turn to mush, and they added an interesting note.
When they're in season, I like to make plum soups, eaten cold with yogurt or cream or sour cream.
Apples are great in pork-based dishes. When my tree is cooperating, I like to make Middle Eastern savory dishes with sour cherries.
justaprogressive
(4,731 posts)I'd like that Plum Soup recipe!
Retrograde
(11,199 posts)The plum soup doesn't have much of a recipe. I take what plums I have - 4 or 5 medium-sized ones, the juicier the better, and roughly cut them in pieces, put them in a pot (stones and skins included) with a stick of cinnamon and enough water to cover, then let simmer for about half an hour. Depending on how the plums taste, I may add some sugar or lemon juice. Then when it's cooled, I fish out the plum pits and cinnamon and run the rest through a food mill to get a puree. I mix this with milk or half-and-half and serve cold as an appetizer or dessert.
This is one of a series of cold fruit soups from Eastern Europe.
justaprogressive
(4,731 posts)Sounds delicious!