Cross section

I walked past the potato man shop at the Prahran and saw some finger limes. My friend has been talking about the caviar-like fruit vesicles and so has Cooking Issues in their citrus collection farm tour. The Finger lime is a native Australian plant that grows in the tropical parts of New South Wales and Queensland. It’s a fairly tall tree with many spikes and produces these gerkin-shaped fruits. Inside looks like the cross section of a chili to a certain extent. When squeezed, little round/tear drop vesicles are easily removed. The seeds can be separated easily when you add some water and float them away. Left behind, the size and shape of the vesicles resembles caviar and looks stunning. When they break, they make a popping noise and release a hit of grapefruit and lime flavours. The zest, although very thin smells like kieffer lime leaves.

The two fruits I got: a lime-green coloured one and a ripe Hass avocado coloured one has different coloured fruit vesicles. Have a look at here (The Australian Finger Lime Company) for a range of pretty colours. On my next post I will make something out of them.

The flavours and shape of the vesicles calls for some creativity in cocktails, drinks and garnishes. I don’t think chefs have paid much attention to it (at least in Melbourne and Sydney) until the last few years. I think you will see more of these in restaurant menus to come.

Separate the seeds out by floating them in water and pouring it away

Caviar!