the limes and the lemons

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Ray.Charles
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the limes and the lemons

Post by Ray.Charles » July 30, 2014, 4:06 pm

It seems that growing lemons in concrete pipes is cottage agriculture here, in and around Udon. But, I do not see any limes being grown or sold. I understand lemons to be the round, smooth-skinned ones; limes typically are larger and rough skinned. I think that lime has a more delicate flavor and taste. Where can I buy lime for gin-tonic or a fresh-lime drink?
Or, did I get mixed up in my lime vs. lemon knowledge?



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BobHelm
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the limes and the lemons

Post by BobHelm » July 30, 2014, 4:16 pm

Most Thai's have have met call Limes Lemons... :D
Up until a couple of years ago I never saw Lemons for sale here, only Limes.

Limes are smaller & green in colour, Lemons are considerably larger & yellow in colour..

As per attached picture..
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Ray.Charles
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the limes and the lemons

Post by Ray.Charles » July 30, 2014, 4:49 pm

Thanks, Bob. There is a yet a third one. The size of a lemon as per your photo, but the color of the lime in your photo; that is mostly for flavor not the sour taste.

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parrot
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the limes and the lemons

Post by parrot » July 30, 2014, 5:22 pm

Ray, I'm guessing the rough type you speak of is a kaffir lime (มะกรุด).....the fruit is used by many Thais to clean things (hair, hands) or to mix with homemade dish soaps (very popular these days). You can cut one in half and clean a boat load of brass with one piece.
Or throw a piece in the bathroom for a natural air freshener.
Thais use the leaves in tomyom and many other spicy dishes.

The majority of fruits you see are limes...rarely see a lemon other than in Tops or Villa. We have a lemon tree...but the fruits are very large and do not contain much juice. We use them for cleaning.
As for the limes.......apparently there are limes and there are other limes. My wife tends to be picky about the type she chooses.....she says some tend to have an off taste, while others have just the right kind of pucker to them. Most any will work in a gin and tonic.
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TicToc
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the limes and the lemons

Post by TicToc » July 30, 2014, 7:09 pm

Find this confusing (not hard).
We have a lime tree lots of fruit like in Mr Parrots' photo but one the other day had turned yellow so i cut it open to taste and it was just like a lemon......WTF. Have lemon trees as well but no fruit as yet.
Love lemon juice on pancakes.
Oh yes and some of the limes(same tree) had a lot of juice and some did not,my good lady said it was the way i cut them!!!!!

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parrot
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the limes and the lemons

Post by parrot » July 30, 2014, 7:17 pm

Ask your good lady if the warty-looking lime is a ma-groot. If so, it's a kaffir lime.....can't say I've ever seen anyone eat one........but they do smell like limes.

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Svein66
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the limes and the lemons

Post by Svein66 » July 30, 2014, 7:51 pm

BobHelm wrote:Most Thai's have have met call Limes Lemons... :D
Yes, same here...:)
We have a limetree, but the few limes that came this year all fell down before they was "ready". We hope to be more lucky next time around.
Are the limes growing once a year, or more often? The tree was planted last year, so it was the first time it had limes 3-4 months ago.
We also have some cherry, and they come every 2 months or so. :D

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trubrit
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the limes and the lemons

Post by trubrit » July 30, 2014, 8:12 pm

A link to the subject from 8
years ago.http://www.udonmap.com/udonthaniforum/t ... lit=lemons
Ageing is a privilige denied to many .

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Stantheman
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the limes and the lemons

Post by Stantheman » July 31, 2014, 12:31 am

TicToc wrote:Find this confusing (not hard).
We have a lime tree lots of fruit like in Mr Parrots' photo but one the other day had turned yellow so i cut it open to taste and it was just like a lemon......WTF. Have lemon trees as well but no fruit as yet.
Love lemon juice on pancakes.
Oh yes and some of the limes(same tree) had a lot of juice and some did not,my good lady said it was the way i cut them!!!!!
Just a quick note, Limes will turn yellow and flavor will change if they are allowed to fully ripen on the tree, so they are picked while green.

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socksy
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the limes and the lemons

Post by socksy » July 31, 2014, 6:17 am

Ray.Charles wrote:It seems that growing lemons in concrete pipes is cottage agriculture here, in and around Udon. But, I do not see any limes being grown or sold. I understand lemons to be the round, smooth-skinned ones; limes typically are larger and rough skinned. I think that lime has a more delicate flavor and taste. Where can I buy lime for gin-tonic or a fresh-lime drink?
Or, did I get mixed up in my lime vs. lemon knowledge?
Yes I think you got mixed up Ray.Charles. Maybe cut down on the G&T a bit. Only joking pal.
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Ray.Charles
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the limes and the lemons

Post by Ray.Charles » July 31, 2014, 9:15 pm

Thank you all.
I can make gin and tonic at home; only need to ask for lemon in the market to get my lime. I did that; but on my return I found that I had no Gin, had only Vodka.
What we call lemon as per Bob’s photo, I have no use for. I have seen that used with some roast in the oven; but, we don’t have any oven.
Don’t have any use kaffir lime either. I do have some brass things; I will get a lemon from Parrot when they would need cleaning.
I thought that I have been educated, until I read the last few posts. Now, I need vodka tonic to clear my head.

bamboozle
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the limes and the lemons

Post by bamboozle » August 2, 2014, 6:53 pm

No shortage of lemons in Udon. I use 2 or 3 every week. Have done for 2 years or more. I get them in the old Big C and in that time they've been out of stock perhaps 3 or 4 times. Tops have them too.

glalt
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the limes and the lemons

Post by glalt » August 4, 2014, 2:09 pm

My wife was complaining that one of her lime trees had limes that taste no good. I went out and picked one. After tasting it, I told her that it is a lemon tree and that's why they taste funny to her. These lemons are about the same size as her limes, but they are definitely lemons.

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parrot
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the limes and the lemons

Post by parrot » August 4, 2014, 4:14 pm

Little did I know there are many different varieties of limes......I suppose like tomatoes. My wife is picky picky when it comes to the right kind.....she knows them from sight and has tried to teach me the difference. If it's smallish, round, and green....to me, it's a lime. To my wife it's a lime as well, but maybe not the right kind of lime.

There's a lime guru on the left hand side of the Udon-Nongwahsaw Hwy, just up from kilo 16. He has a particular kind of lime that is large and very juicy. He's able to control when the plants flower, and thus, he made a boatload of money this past Mar-May when scrawny-looking limes in the market are 5 baht each on up. Right now he's making far more money selling rooted cuttings from his trees......sometimes a few hundred to one customer, at 100 baht a cutting.
My guess is, it won't be long before there's an oversupply of limes in the Udon area.

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parrot
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the limes and the lemons

Post by parrot » March 29, 2016, 3:57 pm

Rather than start a new thread on limes, I'll tag onto this one:
Some expats are convinced that the price of things have gone up because a lime used to cost 2 baht and now it costs X. The same could be said for the kilo of green onions you bought a few months ago for 20 baht but now cost 40 or 50. Back in 1995, we had a Thai friend in Texas who loaded up a suitcase with limes that he bought for 15 for $1 and sold them in Udon for a handsome profit. He traveled over the Songkran holidays when the price of limes is usually at its peak.

But times are a changing.........when limes should be their most expensive....and yes, you can find limes in the market for 5 or 6 baht each (Bangkok for 8-10).....but there's a growing number of Udon lemon farms that are selling killer-sized limes, full of juice, for 3 baht each. Today on the way into town, I stopped by a lime farm off the Udon-Nongbualamphu Hwy.......and bought 50 large, juicy, freshly picked limes for 150 baht. Nothing brings a smile to a vendor's face like a free gift.....so I gave my favorite noodle shop 15 limes and my favorite lahb shop 15 limes......20 left to bring home.

There's a farmer setting up perhaps 200+ concrete rings further up the highway with a drip irrigation system.....for his lime orchard. Great news for those who don't like paying seasonal prices for limes!

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TicToc
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the limes and the lemons

Post by TicToc » March 29, 2016, 4:34 pm

What about a map/street view of where these places are then Parrot.

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wazza
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the limes and the lemons

Post by wazza » March 29, 2016, 4:57 pm

Grievous was paying about 350 Baht for 1 lime in Western Australia where he was working !

Green Gold

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parrot
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the limes and the lemons

Post by parrot » March 29, 2016, 6:58 pm

As you're heading into town from Nongbualamphu, take the last left before you reach Platinum 168. You'll see a small sign just at the corner of the highway that says in Thai - Limes for Sale, 1km. Follow that road for 1km, bearing right, with a large temple on your left. You'll see another sign at the gate of the farm. Drive in. There are workers there who pick the limes for you.

There's another established lime farm just past kilo 16, as you're heading toward Nongbualamphu. He's just off the highway, on the left. We stopped by yesterday morning but he had just sold 1000 limes to middlemen who resell them to markets.
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TicToc
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the limes and the lemons

Post by TicToc » March 30, 2016, 9:40 am

Much appreciated Mr Parrot.
Thanks

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