L is for Lime: Yummy Fruits A-Z

Limes are rather famous, and deservedly so. This smaller of the citrus fruit family saved untold numbers of British sailors from getting scurvy in the nineteenth century. Scurvy is a disfiguring disease that in advanced stages can cause one's teeth to fall out, oozing skin sores, jaundice, fever, neuropathy, and even death. 

Scurvy is caused by a deficiency in vitamin C, of which the lime happens to be high in, as is its competitor, the lemon. In fact, a lemon is four times higher in vitamin C, but limes were more available in the 19th century (from the West Indies), and became the main fruit of the British navy sailing the high seas. The sailors even acquired the nickname, "limey." 

Lime trees grow to about 16 feet high and can be found in tropical and subtropical climates. The origin of limes is not known. Some speculate they may have come from the Indonesian archipelago or nearby Asia. Christoper Columbus is credited with taking the first lime seed to the West Indies where it was planted in 1493. Today limes are grown all over the world. Brazil is the top producer, followed by Mexico, the U.S. (mainly Florida), and the West Indies. 

Lime Recipe

"Perky Lime Sauce"

1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh lime (rind)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Combine sugar, cornstarch, water and a dash of salt in small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and turns clear. Remove from burner. Add butter, lime rind and juice. Mix well. Cool before serving. Yield: 1 cup 

(Best served over diced cantaloupe and scoops of vanilla ice cream, but you can experiment. Try over bananas and gingerbread).  

Lime Joke

Lime Books

 
--A Lime, a Mime, a Pool of Slime (More about Nouns) (2008)
by Brian P. Cleary and Brian Gable


 
  --Lime Tree Can't Bear Orange (2009) by Amanda Smyth


--A Parachute in the Lime Tree (2012)  by Annemarie Neary

Lime Songs

--"Corona and Lime" by Shwayze (2009)
--"The Lime Tree" by Trevor Hall (2009)

--"Lime in the Coconut" by Kermit the Frog (2008) (video link)

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_(fruit); http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scurvy
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/341295/lime

Sharon M. Himsl

Writer/Author. Blogging since 2011. 
Published with Evernight Teen: 
~~The Shells of Mersing