RECIPE: REC: my experiment with lime extract is coming along nicely...

[rvb]

i'm starting with whole limes, scrubbing with detergent and soaking for a day to get rid of pesticides, fertilizers, dirt and slug pee.

next is 3 days soaking in water with purified water on day 3. although this sounds extreme, it seems to be worth the effort.

i'm lucky that maryland liquor laws allow the sale of pure grain alcohol. it's perfect for extracting essential oils. if you can't find it, use the highest proof vodka you can find.

for lime, 150 proof rum would be perfect.

give it time. you'll see results in a day, but age is good.

i'm also lucky to have a kaffir lime tree. the leaves add a flavor that cannot be found elsewhere.

i had started out with zest, but i'm impatient. the point ith the pith. it fouls up the tathte. i'm thorry but pith jutht tathets bad.

i also discovered that the extract makes a wonderful after-shave lotion. with all of my allergies, i had given up hope.

can you imagine the ads?

"my man wears kaffir lime leaves or nothing at all."

 

[richard-in-cincy]

Rick, you're just so full of...

great advice today!

I had never thought of making the lime extract, especially with adding the Kafir leaves. I'm stopping on the way home for the rum!

Add some bay leaves to your lime and rum and you've got the classic Bay Rum. Great stuff. Caswell-Massey sells a wonderful brand that I use around Christmas time, since it smells so "seasonal".

Oh, and about that zest and getting it quickly and easily...how are you doing it? I also had this problem until I discovered (I think it's a Henkel) vegetable peeler. It has the blades that can be removed for sharpening/replacement. It slices perfect zest with no pith. I can do a whole lemon in something like 10 seconds. And no pith. I'm sure other high end vegetable peelers would also work.

 

[rvb]

i'm throwing the lime in whole.

 

[clofthwld]

Will you send me your unused slug pee? I have a recipe I've been DYING to try.