Everything To Know About Cooking With Black Limes
Boost your culinary repertoire with this tangy ingredient.
Black limes, also known as dried limes or black lemons, are often used in Middle Eastern and North African cooking. They add a sour and salty flavor to stews, tagines, and other dishes. The versatility of black limes, which get their dark, dried appearance from being sun-dried until they turn black in color, make them a delicious addition to any cook's arsenal.
What Is a Black Lime?
A black lime is a type of lime that has been blanched in a salty brine, then dried in the sun until their flesh and peel have turned black and have hardened. The drying process concentrates the lime's natural flavors and aromas, making black limes a powerful and flavorful addition to a wide range of dishes.
Black limes hail from Oman, a country in the far south of Iran by the Arabian Sea. Although black limes are easy to make at home, it is more common for them to be sold in specialty stores.
What Do Black Limes Taste Like?
Their flavor is sour, slightly sweet, and slightly bitter, with a strong citrus aroma. When used in cooking, black limes add depth and complexity to dishes, and are often used to add a sour and slightly salty taste to stews, rice dishes, and soups.
How Do You Cook With Black Limes?
Black limes can be used either whole or in powdered form, and is commonly used in Middle Eastern and North African cuisines, especially in dishes such as tagines and stews. They are often added to the cooking liquid to add a sour and salty flavor to the dish, and are removed before serving. Black limes can also be used as a garnish or to make lime salt, which is a condiment used to season dishes.
When used whole in cooking, as with our Chicken with Black Limes recipe, they add a nice tangy depth and flavor to stews and braises, or they can be pierced and used to infuse liquids such as broth or water. They can also be used to make a traditional Middle Eastern drink called "limonana," which is made by blending rehydrated black limes with water, sugar, and ice.
Black limes are also commonly ground into a powder and used as a seasoning for meats, poultry, and fish. The powder can also be added to sauces, dressings, and marinades to give them a tart, zesty flavor.
In addition to their versatility in the kitchen, black limes are also highly nutritious. They are a rich source of vitamin C, calcium, and potassium, and are believed to have numerous health benefits, including aiding digestion and boosting the immune system. However you use them, black limes are an ingredient that promise to add tangy depth and complexity to your cooking.
