Abundant Limes

The lime tree is producing limes faster than we can use them. The cool mornings are spent picking up the windfall of the previous evening. With a basket of about 60 limes in the kitchen I decided to try and preserve them for future use.

First, I peeled 15 limes very thinly for making lime liqueur. My hands and the kitchen were heavy with the smell of lime oil. I added four mint leaves, two lemon geranium leaves and the lime peels to vodka in a glass jar. The peels and leaves will steep for the next two weeks before I add the sugar syrup to make the lime liqueur.

Peels in Vodka

The peeled limes were halved with the rest of the limes and I spent the best part of the morning squeezing them. I poured the juice into ice-cube making bags for later use in salad dressings, frozen margaritas, sorbets, pasta dishes and general well-being.

Lime juice ready for freezing

With limes high in vitamin C, it will help to boost our immune systems during winter, protecting us against colds and flu.

I am happy to have used so many limes. Now I need to plan some creative ways to use the rest of our abundant limes.