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

(Megan Shanley, Shanley Farms)

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.

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