They've been called the caviar of the citrus family —  and with small sour pearls, finger limes are an adventurous addition to your next meal.

For over 60,000 years the people living along the east coast of Australia have been eating this special fruit to help keep them healthy.

The pulp or pearls (like caviar) of the fruit is high in vitamin C and the skin can be used to heal cuts and wounds.

The finger lime is also a delicious and versatile citrus that can replace your average lime or create an interesting burst of fresh flavour in your next salad or drink.

Finger limes are in season during the summer months in Australia and are available at most supermarkets and fruit and vegetable grocers. 

They come in different shapes, colours and sizes. The outside skin varies from dark brown (almost black) to red or green, and the inside pearls range from light green to dark pink.

Adding finger lime pearls to a salad

Finger lime farmer and exporter Margie Douglas says adding the citrus pearls to your favourite salad adds something special to the dish. But what's her favourite way to eat them? 

"On Atlantic salmon ... with a sprinkling of the lime caviar on it. The emerald is bringing it on. That's a slightly stronger limey flavour and it just lifts it and takes away that really rich flavour and just adds to the flavour beautifully," Margie says.

Cook them like a chef

Tom Hitchcock is the head chef at a Thai restaurant on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. He's been working with finger limes on his menu for the past five years.

"These are the yellow curry souffles I've made with finger limes," he says. 

To garnish the top of the souffles, Tom says he's used Fraser Island spanner crab, finger lime pearls, celery, tamarind sauce and crispy onions.

A special drink to serve to your guests

Love a margarita or a simple glass of bubbles?  Add a few pearls to a glass of champagne or swap out lime juice with finger limes for an extra punch in your margarita.

It's safe to say finger limes can complement almost any dish, but perhaps one of the stranger combos we heard of was from Margie's husband and grower Ian Douglas.

 "For me, it's on carrot cake," Ian says. 

SOURCE: https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-to-cook-finger-limes-recipes-australian-native-fruit/101422630