Kaffir lime

Citrus hystrix
Citrus hystrix on sale
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Citrus
Species:	C. hystrix
Binomial name
Citrus hystrix DC.
Synonyms
Citrus auraria Michel Citrus balincolong (Yu.Tanaka) Yu.Tanaka Citrus boholensis (Wester) Yu.Tanaka Citrus celebica Koord. Citrus combara Raf. Citrus echinata St.-Lag. nom. illeg. Citrus hyalopulpa Yu.Tanaka Citrus kerrii (Swingle) Tanaka Citrus kerrii (Swingle) Yu.Tanaka Citrus latipes Hook.f. & Thomson ex Hook.f. Citrus macroptera Montrouz. Citrus micrantha Wester Citrus papeda Miq. Citrus papuana F.M.Bailey Citrus southwickii Wester Citrus torosa Blanco Citrus tuberoides J.W.Benn. Citrus ventricosa Michel Citrus vitiensis Yu.Tanaka Citrus westeri Yu.Tanaka Fortunella sagittifolia K.M.Feng & P.Y.Mao Papeda rumphii Hassk.

The kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix), sometimes referred to in English as the makrut lime or Mauritius papeda, is a citrus fruit native to tropical Asia, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Its fruit and leaves are used in Southeast Asian cuisine and its essential oil is used in perfumery. Its rind and crushed leaves emit an intense citrus fragrance.

In English, the fruit is known as kaffir lime or makrut lime (magrood lime). The Oxford Companion to Food recommends that the term "makrut lime" be favored over "kaffir lime" because kaffir is an offensive term in some cultures and has no contemporary justification for being attached to this plant. The etymology of the name "kaffir lime" is uncertain, but most likely was used by Muslims as a reference to the location the plant grew, which was populated by non-Muslims. The Arabic word for non-Muslims is kafir.

Citrus hystrix is a thorny bush, 6 to 35 feet (1.8 to 10.7 m) tall, with aromatic and distinctively shaped "double" leaves. These hourglass-shaped leaves comprise the leaf blade plus a flattened, leaf-like stalk (or petiole). The fruit is rough and green, and ripens to yellow; it is distinguished by its bumpy exterior and its small size, approximately 4 cm (2 in) wide.

The leaves are the most frequently used part of the plant, fresh, dried, or frozen. The leaves are widely used in Thai and Lao cuisine (for dishes such as tom yum) and Cambodian cuisine (for the base paste "krueng"). The leaves are used in Vietnamese cuisine to add fragrance to chicken dishes and to decrease the pungent odor when steaming snails. The leaves are used in Indonesian cuisine (especially Balinese cuisine and Javanese cuisine) for foods such as soto ayam and are used along with Indonesian bay leaf for chicken and fish. They are also found in Malaysian and Burmese cuisines. It is used widely in South Indian cuisine.

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Wikipedia