The Worst Fruit I’ve Ever Tasted: The Palestinian Sweet Lime
Reading Time: 1 minute Fruits of the genus citrus tend to be some of my favorites, and I rarely find one that my taste buds do not agree with (although I am not very partial to grapefruit).
But this was before the Palestinian Sweet Lime (PSL).
Handling this mystery fruit prior to cutting it open, you could be convinced this thing to be an unripened lemon. Yet upon cutting the object open (which shall henceforth be described as an object, since describing it as a fruit might imply that this thing is in some form edible), you will find the inside to be filled with nothing but what I am assuming can be accurately described as pith (the white part inside of your favorite citrus fruit) with a few seeds.
This thing is incredibly bitter and lacks any real incentive to continue beyond the initial taste. I discovered the PSL when some friends returned with a bag full gifted to them by a man in Ramallah (as I do not know how or why a store would sell them).
If you get a chance to try one, I say go for it, but set your expectations low. Very low.
Important feature of Palestine Sweet Limes: They have been used for generations in India to help cure pregnant women of nausea. They are so effective, that many chemo patients also use them (juice of one lime mixed with an equal amount of 7-Up).
Nature is wild. Interesting stuff!
Haha, You got a bad one there chief. I have a tree and none of them come out like that. They look like any other citrus on the inside. The taste is low acid.
Looks like I will have to give it another shot. Back to Israel!
The Sweet Lime is a very mild, rosewater flavoured Citrus fruit. Quite pleasant. I used to use the juice on muesli. A Persian man once asked me if I knew about the bitter Sweet Lime ?? I wonder if you got this type ?
I will never know what it was :(
Yes, I was going to say; definitely, you have to try another or a few more. The three most common fruits for the traditional piñata from the xix and xx centuries were: orange, sugar cane pieces and Palestinian sweet lime (we call it lima), they rarely would come bitter, and I mean, like one in 50. It actually is sweeter than orange or tangerine, and good in agua fresca only if you add another citrus to give it the acidic flavor.
Little update, my wife corrected me; the smooth one is a little bitter, take the membrane between the wedges; the one with the big pedicel (yes, I google it, I don’t know that many words) is actually sweet, we call it lima chichona (big nipple lima)
Thanks for the info!