A long narrow fruit with thin skin that ranges in colour from green, yellow, purple and red. The fruit contains an acid juice similar to that of a lemon. A delicate rainforest tree that offers a distinctive citrus flavour to sweet or savoury dishes. The juicy cells, similar in appearance to caviar, are a delightful surprise in salad dressings.

Australian finger lime (Microcitrus austalasica) can be classed as either a tall shrub or a small tree. Its spiny foliage makes it an attractive Australian ornamental. This tiny citrus variety has many lime characteristics, and its fruit is long and cylindrical in shape. Oil seeps from the rind into the pulp, giving the fruit a very acidic flavour and lingering turpentine-like aftertaste.

The Australian finger lime is unique in the citrus family. The fruit are finger-sized and shaped and naturally have an exciting range of skin and pulp colours. Compressed within the skin are tiny pulp cells, which resemble coloured pearls. These juice bubbles ooze out when the fruit is sliced open and look just like lime caviar. When you bite into the finger lime pearls, they burst in your mouth, releasing their tangy lime flavour.

The finger lime (Citrus australasica) is a True Citrus fruit tree. It is found in the Australian rainforest as a small under storey tree and grows to a height of four to six meters. It bears small, white, fragrant flowers in spring and summer. The trees bear fruit in summer and autumn, as for the Tahitian lime.

The finger lime has a wide natural genetic diversity, which means that the fruit vary significantly in size, shape and colour. The skin colours of the finger lime fruit, when ripe, range from red, purple, black, yellow to green, with many colour variations in between. Pulp colours are different too, and can be green, yellow, white or pink.

The finger lime pulp has a pleasantly sour citrus flavour, tasting almost like a Tahitian lime, or grapefruit. Then again, each fruit varies as much in flavour as it does in colour. The pink-pulped fruit have a more aromatic flavour than other limes. Some fruit are sweeter than others and can be eaten fresh in a fruit salad, or used to garnish lush, tropical fruits such as paw-paw, or avocado.

The finger lime fruit is extremely versatile. It can be used as a creative new ingredient in any recipe requiring a citrus flavour, whether sweet or savoury. Instead of squeezing the juice, as for other citrus, the finger lime pearls are scooped out and used either as a fresh garnish, or mixed through fresh salsas, dips, soups, desserts. Coloured slices of finger lime make a great garnish for cakes, or cheesecakes, looking like tiny cartwheels. Finger limes also make a luscious wild lime marmalade.

Chefs love finger limes and are using them to create exciting new dishes in the most exclusive restaurants. Finger limes are finding their way into the best bars, too. Try infusing some finger lime pearls in a vodka martini, add new zest to a tropical fruit daiquiri, or simply decorate a gin and tonic with a slice of pink finger lime.

Finger limes are an exciting new addition to seafood dishes. Use as a fresh, colourful garnish for oysters, or sashimi. Create delicious sushi with an Australian flavour, or spice up gourmet vegetarian cuisine. Finger limes also blend beautifully with other Australian native foods, such as lemon myrtle, Dorrigo pepper, or strawberry gum.

Joanna Savill, co-producer of SBS Food Lovers' Guide to Australia, featured the finger limes on her program on Friday, June 2nd, 2000. She describes the finger lime as "an amazing indigenous fruit...designer quality and our newest discovery."

Graham Latham, Director of International Education and Development with Le Cordon Bleu Group in Paris, says: “oysters with finger lime are exceptional and stand out in a class of their own. The lime "caviar" is unique and adds a beautiful dimension to the taste of oysters."

For further information, or to find out where you can buy finger limes, please download our enquiry form and email us at Byron Bay Native Produce on: Byron Bay Native Produce

From The Age Newspaper: