kaffir lime

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Citrus × hystrix'
Citrus hystrix on sale
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Citrus
Species:	C. hystrix
Binomial name
Citrus × hystrix' DC. [1]
Synonyms
Citrus torosa Blanco

The kaffir lime (Citrus × hystrix, Rutaceae) is also known as combava, kieffer lime, limau purut,^[2] jeruk purut or makrut lime, Kabuyao (Cabuyao).^[1] It is a lime native to Indochinese and Malesian ecoregions in India, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and adjacent countries. It is used in Southeast Asian cuisine.

Description

Citrus × hystrix is a thorny bush with aromatic and distinctively shaped "double" leaves. The kaffir lime is a rough, bumpy green fruit. The green lime fruit is distinguished by its bumpy exterior and its small size (approx. 4 cm wide).

Uses

Citrus hystrix Kabuyao(Cabuyao) fruit (left), used in Southeast Asian cooking, with galangal root.

Kaffir lime leaves are used in some South East Asian cusines such as Indonesian, Lao, Cambodian, and Thai (มะกรูด).

Cuisine

The rind of the kaffir lime is commonly used in Lao and Thai curry paste, adding an aromatic, astringent flavor. The zest of the fruit is used in creole cuisine and to impart flavor to "arranged" rums in the Martinique, Réunion island and Madagascar.

The leaves can be used fresh or dried, and can be stored frozen. Its hourglass-shaped leaves (comprising the leaf blade plus a flattened, leaf-like leaf-stalk or petiole) are widely used in Thai and Lao cuisine (for dishes such as tom yum), and Cambodian cuisine (for the base paste "Krueng"). The leaves are used in Indonesian cuisine (especially Balinese cuisine and Javanese cuisine), for foods such as sayur asam, and are used along with Indonesian bay leaf for chicken and fish. They are also found in Malaysian^[3] and Burmese cuisines.

Medicinal

The juice and rinds are used in traditional Indonesian medicine; for this reason the fruit is referred to in Indonesia as jeruk obat ("medicine citrus"). The oil from the rind has strong insecticidal properties. The juice is generally regarded as too acidic to use in food preparation, but finds use as a cleanser for clothing and hair in Thailand.

Cultivation

Citrus x hystrix is grown worldwide in suitable climates as a garden shrub for home fruit production. It is well suited to container gardens and large garden pots on patios, terraces, and in conservatories.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Citrus x hystrix

• ×Citrofortunella mitis (Musk Lime)
• Citrus × depressa (Shikwasa, Hirami lemon)
• Citrus hybrids

References