H Mart in Niles did not have them a few weeks ago on a Saturday around noon

Stopped at Golden Pacific Market today, just to pick up peeled garlic cloves, and only because the parking lot at the Broadway Supermarket was over capacity. Found them - AND BAGS OF FRESH KAFFIR LIME LEAVES. I whooped aloud, enough so that another shopper asked over what I was exclaiming. I told her a Reader's Digest version of their recent non-availablility, how to use/store them, and such, and she bought a bag, too. Gotta share the wealth and my accidental good fortune! Good sized bags in great condition - perhaps 40+ per bag - were a piddling $1.95 each. Go! NOW!

Golden Pacific Market
5353 N Broadway Street
Chicago, IL 60640
Neighborhood: Edgewater
(773) 334-6688

Oh no. I am out of lime leaves and I am out of town for 10 days.

I just bought some fresh ones at the Marketplace on Oakton yesterday. They seemed much smaller (younger?) than usual, but they were pretty cheap (I think .99 for a couple of oz). There were only a couple of packages left, so call before heading up to Skokie.

The ever wonderful and quasi "secret" Thai Market on the bend of Lincoln Avenue - just
before it hits Western Avenue has a bag of really nice ones for about 1.50 (maybe 1.95?)

PNA Oriental Store
2310 W. Leland Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
closed Mondays!

773.784.1797

There's a Parking Lot w/ The Abu Dhabi metering system,
directly across the street, next to The CTA Brown Line

Any recent sightings of lime leaves? Any help obtaining these would be greatly appreciated.

Jyoti,
Not sure what qualifies as "recent," but I'm fairly certain that a couple weeks ago I saw bags of the leaves at Golden Pacific on B'way. Why not give them a ring? My guess is that they're likely to have them. Good luck!

Gypsy Boy wrote:Jyoti,
Not sure what qualifies as "recent," but I'm fairly certain that a couple weeks ago I saw bags of the leaves at Golden Pacific on B'way. Why not give them a ring? My guess is that they're likely to have them. Good luck!

Thanks. I'll call them and check.

I was up in Minneapolis over the weekend. Went to United Noodles with my daughter and saw a huge tub of leaves. Naturally, I bought some. My daughter said that she sees them all the time at several different markets. Why do they seem so plentiful in Minneapolis and so difficult to find here.

lougord99 wrote:I was up in Minneapolis over the weekend. Went to United Noodles with my daughter and saw a huge tub of leaves. Naturally, I bought some. My daughter said that she sees them all the time at several different markets. Why do they seem so plentiful in Minneapolis and so difficult to find here.

Good question!

Got some
Broadway Market and Tai Nam Market had them. Tai Nam had a big sign saying "We have Kefir lime leaves" which seems to suggest that there must have been some kind of shortage.
Thanks Gypsy Boy!

. . .and sadly, I visited both Broadway Supermarket and Tai Nam Market today, in search of lime leaves, and not a leaf to be found in either place, fresh or frozen! Wonder if the quarantine has been reinstated?

I picked some up (fresh) at Golden Pacific a week or two back. They seem to have them in stock maybe 20% of my visits. If coming from distance, probably worth giving them a quick ring.

AlekH -

I had a lot of errands to run in the Lincoln Square area today, so a swing past Golden Pacific was in the cards. SCORE! LIME LEAF BONANZA! Beautiful super-fresh ones, too, just in yesterday. A curious lady in front of me in line asked me what they were, and she, the checker, and I formed an ad hoc discussion group as to uses, the scourge that is Citrus Canker, the importance of using fresh leaves, and the sad fact that there is just no substitute for that wonderful taste. Great chat, great result. (Strangely, despite the heat/elevated humidity, people are VERY chatty today! )

Thanks, AlekH - I am now a happy gal!

I posted in another thread, but I recently purchased a Kaffir lime tree from Four Winds Growers in California. I opted for the one year old tree, though I sort of wish I had gotten the 2-3 year old tree (older trees are apparently heartier and I'd have a better chance of getting fruit). However, I'm very pleased with how well the tree is doing so far (knock wood).




This weekend, I noticed that the Q Ideas flower/gift shop on Argyle was selling fairly large Kaffir lime trees. I spoke with the proprietor about them. The trees are 6 years old and sell for $60, which is similar to the price of a Four Winds 2-3 year tree if you figure in shipping (4 winds is apparently known for really great quality, can't speak to the Q Ideas trees but they looked pretty stout). According to the proprietor, these produced fruit earlier in the year.



Q Ideas
1134 W Argyle St
Chicago, IL 60640-3610
773-989-1059 (Phone)

thaiobsessed wrote:I posted in another thread, but I recently purchased a Kaffir lime tree from Four Winds Growers in California. I opted for the one year old tree, though I sort of wish I had gotten the 2-3 year old tree (older trees are apparently heartier and I'd have a better chance of getting fruit). However, I'm very pleased with how well the tree is doing so far (knock wood).

Did the exact same thing two years ago, except purchased the older tree. Yours looks great.

When you bring it indoors for the winter be VERY vigilant about looking it over occasionally for scale. These plants, and citrus in general, are absolute magnets for it and will allow scale to infest many of your other houseplants, especially calla lilies if you have them. Don't ask me how I know this.

Just read about this stuff, which the excellent Thai blogger SheSimmers recommends. Worth a try, I'd say.

Geo

I would be curious if someone here finds that 1 drop actually does anything as they claim. They are selling 1/2 tsp for $12. This is already diluted 95%.

Well, how much oil can there possibly be in a leaf?

Hi everyone, I'm here because your discussion appeared on my stats. Since we are the manufacturers of the kaffir lime leaf essential oil you really don't have to believe us, but please bear in mind a few things: essential oil is not an infusion. The pure oil is so concentrated, aromatherapy experts advise against even touching it before it's been diluted. Usually, essential oils are diluted to 2-3%, not 5%, but since we're using it for cooking we decided to push the envelope a bit, so that 1 drop would be sufficient for 250 ML (or gr) of food. If we made it any stronger, you'd have to use 1/2 a drop for certain dishes (cold ones, mainly). It is true that if you add the oil to boiling hot dishes it tends to evaporate (so you'll need to add it after turning off the heat), and for fried dishes you'd have to use more oil and keep a medium heat. But if you're making a salad, you'd better not start with more than 1 drop per 250 ml/gr. It might be a bit too strong.

Thai Food Essentials wrote:Hi everyone, I'm here because your discussion appeared on my stats. Since we are the manufacturers of the kaffir lime leaf essential oil you really don't have to believe us, but please bear in mind a few things: essential oil is not an infusion. The pure oil is so concentrated, aromatherapy experts advise against even touching it before it's been diluted. Usually, essential oils are diluted to 2-3%, not 5%, but since we're using it for cooking we decided to push the envelope a bit, so that 1 drop would be sufficient for 250 ML (or gr) of food. If we made it any stronger, you'd have to use 1/2 a drop for certain dishes (cold ones, mainly). It is true that if you add the oil to boiling hot dishes it tends to evaporate (so you'll need to add it after turning off the heat), and for fried dishes you'd have to use more oil and keep a medium heat. But if you're making a salad, you'd better not start with more than 1 drop per 250 ml/gr. It might be a bit too strong.

Welcome to LTHForum, and thanks for participating in this open way; we hope other Thai (and beyond) topics might be of interest as well, and welcome your insights.

Matt / Santander

leek wrote:Well, how much oil can there possibly be in a leaf?

Given how aromatic they are, i bet it's a rather large amount for their size.

Anyways, found fresh leaves at Golden Pacific last night.

Super H-mart in Niles had a large supply today.

Lot's of Keffir Limes for sale @ Tai Nam Market


Keffir Lime Leaves by Man_of Steel, on Flickr



Thai Nam Market
4925 N. Broadway
Chicago,IL.60640
773.275.5666

My kaffir lime tree did pretty well over the winter, all things considered.
Rick T., you were not kidding about the scale--I spent lots of time cleaning the individual leaves with alcohol and/or mineral oil.
Ironically, my plant did great indoors and started to fruit! But the fruit fell off when I moved her outdoors and put her in a bigger pot (maybe too much trauma all at once?).
Anyway, I think she's gonna pull through.

The one fruit I saved was about the size of a pea. This may belong under the 'you know you're an LTH-er when...' thread, but I was so excited about it, I had to pull out my microplane grater and try zesting it:






Surprisingly, it kinda worked.

thaiobsessed wrote:Surprisingly, it kinda worked.

Yeah, but I have to wonder how much of that zest is actually fingertip?

thaiobsessed--

Seems to me that JoelF thinks that you have green fingernails.



Did you ease your plant into outdoors? If the transition process is rushed at all, fruit will definitely tend to drop, and in severe conditions, the leaves will fall off too. But neither problem is life-threatening for the plant. And yeah, it didn't help to re-pot it at the same time... your pore bebe was all stressed!

Geo

thaiobsessed wrote:My kaffir lime tree did pretty well over the winter, all things considered.
Rick T., you were not kidding about the scale--I spent lots of time cleaning the individual leaves with alcohol and/or mineral oil.
Ironically, my plant did great indoors and started to fruit! But the fruit fell off when I moved her outdoors and put her in a bigger pot (maybe too much trauma all at once?).
Anyway, I think she's gonna pull through.

I use Safer Soap concentrate. Just put a a tsp or so in a spray bottle, fill with water, and spray thoroughly. Scales will fall right off. Interestingly natural predators seem to keep the scale in check until the next fall when it comes indoors again.

I will second someone else's observation that this (and all plants) should be acclimated to the outdoors for a few days, especially if you will be moving it to full sun. It's quite a shock and leaves can drop off or burn. Move into the shade first and then into sun for a couple of mornings or afternoons if possible.

This is also an excellent time to trim and shape the plant as well. Mine has seldom thrown either blossoms or fruit so I don't worry about pruning off potential fruit.

Geo wrote:Did you ease your plant into outdoors? If the transition process is rushed at all, fruit will definitely tend to drop, and in severe conditions, the leaves will fall off too. But neither problem is life-threatening for the plant. And yeah, it didn't help to re-pot it at the same time... your pore bebe was all stressed!

I pretty much just stuck her in the sun when the weather got nice. A few leaves dropped and some got a little lighter in color. Oops. Luckily, she's got a few new leaf sprouts (even though the poor thing's caregiver clearly does not know how to take care of her--is there a DCFS for plants?).

Rick T. wrote:
I use Safer Soap concentrate. Just put a a tsp or so in a spray bottle, fill with water, and spray thoroughly.

Sounds easier than swabbing the leaves one-by-one with a cotton ball. I'll try that this fall, thanks.

The Safer insecticidal soap uses potassium hydroxide as the alkali and is much less likely to cause foliage damage than regular soaps, which are made using sodium hydroxide. Do not use in very hot weather because of the potential for foliage damage. The downside is that potassium soaps tend to stink. Spray a day before you bring the tree inside in the fall. Take advantage of warm days in late fall or spring to spray when you can have windows open for a couple of hours. Contact with water can bring up the smell, so rinse leaves thoroughly before using in cooking.

I have the same scale problem with my bay tree but put up with it because fresh bay leaves are so much better than dried.