Citrus caviar that bursts like carbonated candy set to become next food trend

Relaxnews
Tuesday 17 May 2011 00:00 BST
Comments
(Megan Shanley, Shanley Farms)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A citrus fruit that yields tiny pearls of juice-filled caviar eggs is poised to become the next big source of inspiration for chefs and retailers in North America.

A fruit that spans the length of a pinkie finger and looks deceptively like a jalapeno pepper was identified in May's issue of Specialty Food Magazine as an emerging trend that could appear on menus and dishes in the near future. The publication is produced by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade.

Native to Australia, the finger lime comes in shades of red, pink, yellow and green and is currently grown by only a few farmers in the US, like Shanley Farms in California which produced their first commercial-sized crop last fall.

The fruit is in season there in the autumn and winter months between September and January.

Though new to North America, they were first discovered in the Australian bush by aboriginals and domesticated 30 years ago.

 "There's no texture quite like the exploding pop rock texture of the finger lime," farmer Jim Shanley told Specialty Food Magazine. "It provides diners with a random explosion of citrus flavor in their mouth as opposed to a classic drenching of citrus juice."

The pulp or citrus caviar is a tart burst that tastes like a cross between a lemon and lime, and has been used with seafood like lobster medallions, as a caviar garnish for sushi, on grilled salmon, raw oysters, salads and cocktails.

Shanley Farms also ships to Europe.

http://www.shanleyfarms.com/Home_Page.html

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in