Ground Kaffir Lime Leaves

Description

Kaffir Lime, Citrus hystrix, is from the family Rutaceae (the citrus family). Kaffir Lime belongs to subgenus Papeda, and while related they, are not closely related to the more popular citrus fruits -- oranges, lemons, grapefruits and limes. Both the rind of the fruit and the leaves are used. The fruit is a dark lime green in color and looks like a pear with the outer rind being knobby and wrinkled. Members of this subgenus (which includes the Ichang lemon, yuzu, kabosu, and sudachi) are characterized as fruits that have juice that is considered inedible and rarely used. The rind of the fruit and the leaves have a similar flavor profile, with the leaves having a more pronounced citrusy pungency that is preferred by most Southeast Asian cultures.

Kaffir Lime Leaves have a higher essential oil than the fruit (approximately 80%), primarily from citronellol. It also contains citral, limonene and nerol in smaller amounts.

Kaffir Lime Leaves are called suan gan (Mandarin), limettier herisse (French), kaffernlimette (German), kobumikan (Japanese), Lima cafre (Portuguese), Kafrski lajmk (Russian) and hojas de lima Kaffir (Spanish). Also known as Indonesian lime, wild lime or by its Thai name - makrut lime (or bai makrut).

History of Kaffir Lime Leaves

The term “Kaffir” was originally used by Muslims to refer to non-Muslims, but over the centuries it was adopted by white European colonialists to describe the Xhosa, an indigenous people in South Africa. By the 20th century, kaffir was widely understood to be a slur. It’s derived from Arabic “kafir” meaning "infidel, non-Muslim", from obsolete Spanish and Portuguese “cafre” meaning "barbarian". The original source is a Semitic root word for "village", which is a derogatory reference to backwardness.

The earliest published reference to Kaffir Lime is from Emanuel Bonavia’s book “In The Cultivated Oranges, Lemons Etc. of India and Ceylon”, published in 1888. The author briefly mentions the fruit, noting, “Europeans call it Caffre-lime.” (Caffre is an alternate spelling of Kaffir).

University of California researcher David Karp speculates that the initial naming convention comes from “Indian Muslims who most likely encountered the fruit as an import from lands such as Thailand and Sri Lanka, where Buddhists and other non-Muslims predominated. From this Indian usage, intended to convey exotic origin, the term passed into English.” This theory suggests that the name’s roots lie closer to the original Arabic meaning of kafir than to the 20th-century racial slur.

Kaffir Lime Leaf Cultivation

The trees thrive in warm, humid climates, and like other citrus varieties are highly sensitive to frost and cold. The tree flowers in the spring and summer months and bears fruit in the winter.  Kaffir Lime Leaves have a shiny, leathery appearance, and these leaves look like they are growing together in an unusual attached form (they appear to be attached at the stem and are often referred to as double leaves).

The Kaffir Lime tree is indigenous to Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and other parts of south Asia and today is also grown in Australia, California and Florida. Our Kaffir Lime Leaves are grown in Thailand.

Cooking with Kaffir Lime Leaves

Similar to bay leaves, whole Kaffir leaves are generally removed from the dish prior to serving. If you are going to leave them in a dish, you should shred them very, very thin or grind them. They do retain their flavor when cooked so it is okay to add these early in the cooking process. But be careful with these, as the longer they are in a dish the more flavor they provide.

Kaffir Lime is very popular in Balinese, Cambodian, Malaysian and Thai cuisine.

The grated rind is added to curry pastes, fish cakes and larp (a type of minced meat salad). The fresh rind is grated or sliced; but be sure not to use any of the pith, as it is very bitter. The dried rind can be reconstituted much like a dried chile and then added to a dish.

These leaves are used in Thai and Lao cuisine in dishes such as tom yum. In Vietnam, Kaffir Leaves are used in chicken dishes to add fragrance and also to cover up the smell when steaming snails.

Kaffir Lime leaves go well with fish, green vegetables, mushrooms, noodles, pork, poultry, rice and squid.

Kaffir Lime leaves pair well with basil, chile peppers, cilantro, coconut milk, fish broth, galangal, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, mango, sesame and star anise.

One of our favorite recipes using Kaffir lime Leaves is Chicken Fried Rice with Lime and Kaffir Leaves.

What Do Kaffir Lime Leaves Taste Like

Like many spices, the dried leaves and the dried rind are not near as fragrant as the fresh. The leaves have a potent floral and pungent aroma with hints of both lemon and lime. The flavor is somewhat gentle yet bold and tends to stick around for a while.

Kaffir Lime Leaf Substitutions and Conversions

Use lime or lemon zest as a substitute for Kaffir Lime Leaves.

1 tablespoon Kaffir Lime zest or regular lime zest or lemon zest = 3 Kaffir double-leaves or 6 Kaffir leaves.

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