By Xiu Ying, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Tiny green spheres that explode in the mouth and release a tasty liquid. This may seem like the description of rare fish roe or even an invention of molecular cooking, but it is not.
It’s a natural ingredient, a small fruit filled with small rounded buds called caviar-lime or citrus-caviar.
The fruit itself is a small lemon called finger lime, about 10 centimeters long, thin, elongated, originating in Oceania and it’s starting to shine in restaurants around here.
The little spheres inside of it resemble fish eggs in appearance and in the sensation in the mouth, bursting between the teeth.
A kilo of citrus-caviar is sold for over R$1,000 (the price of Persian lime is approximately R$6 to R$10 per kilo). Prices are expected to fall in the coming years, as some Brazilian farmers are investing in this species also known as “Citrus australasica”, in Australia, where it hails from.
Until recently, the fruit was not farmed in Brazil, but now it seems to be adapting well to the climate. One of the pioneers in this area is Deborah Orr, from DRO Ervas e Flores.
On her property in the municipality of Cerquilho, in the countryside of São Paulo, she plants herbs, sprouts, and edible flowers, among other plant-based ingredients greatly coveted by chefs. Deborah reserved a space in the orchard for this citrus fruit she had first experienced 14 years ago.
Since then, she has tried to grow this small fruit. For eight years, she has been searching for ways to farm it and now has 20 trees bearing fruit. By 2020, however, Deborah expects to produce 300 seedlings. The trees take time to ripen but seem to have adapted well.
The tiny spheres of lemon juice are visually attractive – in addition to the green ones, there are pink and reddish species – and chefs often use them to decorate dishes as its high cost hinders its use in large quantities.