Finger limes are an unusual fruit that has caviar-like flesh and pops in your mouth. They come in all kinds of interior colors, and sound amazing. I’ve been trying to find some in California, but they’re native to Australia and I haven’t seen any even in specialty stores. Does anyone know where I might find them here?
I hit Google and found a few farms in California that grow them. You could probably just call them and ask them who distributes their crops.
https://fig-tree-farms.com/index.html
https://www.pearsonranch.com/buy-finger-limes-online/
It also sounds like the harvest is during the autumn/winter, based on the notes on the first one, so they’d be out-of-season now, so I doubt that you could get them grown in California anyway until late in the year. I have no idea whether they ship well, but if so, you’re probably stuck looking for imports if you want them prior to that.
If you have an appropriate place to grow them, you might save the seeds from one if you can get one and plant them and have a tree yourself. It sounds like they do grow from seed (not like, say, the Hass avocado).
EDIT: One more trick. It’s not as nice an interface for actually shopping as, say, Amazon or the like, but if you want to find something truly esoteric that you cannot find anywhere else, Google Shopping indexes a ludicrous number of retailer sites. My first search there found:
…and a bunch more hits.
This is an amazingly thoughtful response and reminds me why I chose the Fediverse as my go-to. Thank you.
Four Winds sells the trees and is a reputable citrus grower: https://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/products/australian-finger-lime-trees
Winter harvest makes sense, most citrus fruits are mid-winter. Guess I’ll have to wait to add them to my cocktails :( . Appreciate the in-depth dive!
This is probably the first time I hear the words “they’re native to Australia” and I don’t think “oh, thank God”.
Finger limes aren’t poisonous.
They’re venomous.
I have no idea where to find them. But if I ever find one I’m going to graft it in Malena (my Sicilian lemon tree), alongside the rangpur (fairly common where I live) and - once I find it - this one:
Buddha’s hand.
THESE ARE SO WEIRD WHAT ON EARTH. I love them.
Sure, they are citrus caviar and the pulp looks great on a plate. And it’s wonderful to get to be 50 years old and taste something new.
But don’t expect too much.
where are you, and how far/how did your finger limes travel to get to you? i have some in my garden (and the conditions here arent even ideal, I just really wanted them) and theyre delicious!
kinda wonder wat finger lime ice cream taste like ?
Haha, I thought it was a joke about you eating some plastic decor fruits. Man was I flabbergasted when I saw that it is a real fruit! Fascinating!
I am so happy to know these exist, time to hunt with you.
Goodland Organics has them but they call them Caviar Limes: https://www.goodlandorganics.com/
I think they call them that because when you squeeze them the little bits of lime come out in little bubbles of juice. It’s great
What the hel!? I’m Australian and I’ve never heard of these, TO THE FRUIT AND VEG SHOP!
I’ve seen them but never realised they were like that on the inside. I had just assumed they were like a normal lime. Gonna have to grab some next time I see them.
Exactly my thoughts. Tracking down finger limes in gc.
I ordered some on Etsy in August, their usual harvest season. They were ok but not particularly flavorful.
There’s so many odd citrus varieties I love it. Previously I lived in Central Florida and everybody had citrus trees in their yards but they were mostly all hybridized and basically bitter limes/oranges. Now in Berkeley also everybody had citrus trees but they are all so good. We have a decent Meyer lemon tree which is nice (if annoying for squirrels and rats) but one of our neighbors has a gorgeous buddha finger citrus that I really envy and always hope to see them outside to see if I can take a few.
