what is grated lime rind, and how do i get it. i need 1-1/2 tsp?
limes grow in Mexico, so they use what is there.....
Native ingredients provided the Indian cultures of Mexico with dietary staples, but it was the cooking techniques discovered by the extraordinary Mayans that gave them a solidly nutritious diet. The Mayans had learned to cook corn with lime, to steep it and remove the kernel. The lime released various nutrients in the corn that would otherwise not be usable by the human body. The Mayans knew nothing about vitamins (nor did the Spanish conquerors as vitamins were not discovered until 1910), but their methods of cooking gave them a nutrient-rich diet.
When the Spanish came to Mexico, they brought with them lots of products from foreign nations. Mexico, being the main Spanish colony in America, opened trade to various nations (including China, from where limes come from). When all this products were known here, they were incorporated to the Prehispanic and Spanish cuisines, creating many new flavours. I don't really think lime it is so widely used as a main ingredient in many receipes, but it is certanly used a lot as an extra seasoning for tacos, fruits, vegetables, etc, etc, etc....^^ Still, there are some dishes, like lime soup (from Yucatán, South East Mexico) that use it as a main ingredient. Why do we like it so much? Probably because of the flavour. We are very fond of sour flavours. There is nothing more delicious in a hot day than a good serving of carrots with lots of lime juice, salt and chile piquin ^^
The Mexican lime is native to the Indo-Malayan region. It was unknown in Europe before the Crusades and it is assumed to have been carried to North Africa and the Near East by Arabs and taken by Crusaders from Palestine to Mediterranean Europe. In the mid-13th Century, it was cultivated and well-known in Italy and probably also in France. It was undoubtedly introduced into the Caribbean islands and Mexico by the Spaniards, for it was reportedly commonly grown in Haiti in 1520. It readily became naturalized in the West Indies and Mexico, There is no known record of its arrival in Florida. Dr. Henry Perrine planted limes from Yucatan on Indian Key and possibly elsewhere. In 1839, cultivation of limes in southern Florida was reported to be increasing. The lime became a common dooryard fruit and by 1883 was being grown commercially on a small scale in Orange and Lake Counties. When pineapple culture was abandoned on the Florida Keys, because of soil depletion and the 1906 hurricane, people began planting limes as a substitute crop for the Keys and the islands off Ft. Myers on the west coast. The fruits were pickled in saltwater and shipped to Boston where they were a popular snack for school children. The little industry flourished especially between 1913 and 1923, but was demolished by the infamous hurricane of 1926. Thereafter, the lime was once again mainly a casual dooryard resource on the Keys and the southern part of the Florida mainland.
