A few years ago my friend Jesica and I were shopping at a market, and she pointed out some extra-large limes. “Mira, esa es nuestra lima.” Look, that’s our lime.
She made me taste some — I was a little wary of sticking half a lime in my mouth — and I was amazed. The lima didn’t taste like regular Mexican lime at all. It was like a pear crossed with a sweet orange, with an intense, floral perfume.
From then on, I called lima “nuestra lima” just because I liked how that sounded. I tasted some at the markets when vendors offered (“Quiere lima guerita?”), but I never bought any because I didn’t know what to do with it.
Then, last week, after tasting an especially juicy lima at Mercado San Juan, I thought: what the hell have I been waiting for? I bought a kilo and decided to make agua fresca.
When I got home that night, I squeezed the lima juice and added strawberries and a little sugar.
The result was exactly what I’d imagined in my head: whisperingly sweet with a bite from the berries. And the smell! It could’ve come from a spray bottle. Or a flower bouquet. I served it to my friends Erik and Liz for dinner and Erik said: “This tastes like summer.” Best compliment ever.
My only duda, as they say, is that I don’t know lima’s official scientific name, therefore I don’t know if you can find it outside Mexico. Ricardo Muñoz Zurita’s Mexican Gastronomy Dictionary says they’re citrus aurantifolia, but that doesn’t sound correct, as these limes aren’t tart or acidic. I think they may be citrus limetta. Anyone out there care to comment? Can you find these in the United States, Europe or elsewhere?
In the meantime, if you live in Mexico, please make this agua fresca and sip it outside, preferably at sunset on a weekend night. You can find limas at Mercado San Juan or the Condesa Tuesday tianguis, and I’m sure elsewhere.
Strawberry-Lima Agua Fresca*
*Remember this is the Mexican sweet lime, not the tart limón
Makes 12 cups, which four people can finish in one sitting, because it’s THAT good
Ingredients
1 cup fresh-squeezed lima juice (about eight limas)
12 strawberries, quartered
4 tablespoons sugar
12 cups water
Directions
I actually halve this recipe and make two batches, since my blender only holds 6 cups of water at a time. So place half of the above in the blender and blend until smooth. Strain into pitcher. Repeat with second batch and serve cold or room-temperature.
My friends (Oaxaca countryside) live next door to a woman with a Lima tree. They just let them rot on the tree or sell them to my friend. They look at her like she is crazy for wanting to use them for jugo. The neighbors say “no one” eats them. I have noticed that the flavor only seems to be good for a short while after squeezing, losing it’s light, floral quality pretty quickly. I like the idea of mixing it with strawberries. Gotta try this next time I’m at their house and the lima tree is bearing fruit.
Jody: How sad about the rotting limas. If you do make the agua, let me know how it turns out!
I just made this recipe, but didn’t have the limas, so I used lemons I found here at the store. I put Stevia in it instead of sugar. So I guess I really didn’t make your recipe, but what I did make is so delicious. I’ll be making it here this summer in Mazatlan. I will keep my eye out for these limas though and try it then. Love your blogs. Keep em’ coming.
http://www.joelandjanicewhitaker@blogspot.com
Glad you found it useful, Janice. Interesting to hear that you can find lemons at the grocery store… they’re rare here in DF. I think they have them at Costco maybe.
Those look like the limes used in the Yucatan for making a “proper” sopa de lima (or so I was taught). But I recall them being more sour than what you describe.
In Jalisco we call them limas corrie notes, we have them everywhere, I grew up with them, and the limas that you describe es exactlyou right, same limas, but we have the sweet ones and the sour ones.
I meant Limas corrientes.
Oh and to my surprise they had lemons in the Superama on Michoacán in Condesa the other day. I did a literal double-take.
I actually have several trees of lima here in Los Angeles. I have 2 types. The lima pictured above (lima chichona) and another. They are very popular with people from Jalisco. My mother-in-law sells them. I came across your site looking for the english name of limas.I am going to have to try your recipe.
Awesome. David, do you know of anywhere to find them in LA? I’d love to buy some on my next trip there.
Yeah, we have them in Jalisco.
Ya se está exportando Lima Dulce mexicana a los Estados Unidos… La empresa Spring Valley Fruits, ubicada en McAllen, TX la comercializa.
Saludos!
Alberto: Padrísimo! Muchas gracias por compartir las noticias. Voy a checar si la tienda Latino cerca de mi casa las tiene. Saludos!
I have a Lima tree near Watsonville, Ca that came with the house. It cooler here, so it produces a thicker rind. I have at least 30 fruits starting to form. I’ll need to try this recipes because this is berry country. I’d need to modify the soup, as we are vegetarians. But any other lima recipes are welcomed!