seedless Lemon Plant are similar to limes. However, they are slightly larger and the skin is a bright yellow when ripe. They have the same refreshing smell and tart flavor. Generally, the whole fruit is used mainly for culinary purposes and are generally package in healthy gift baskets.
The juice of the fruit is added to dishes made in the home, restaurants, hotels and other fine kitchens. All parts of the fruit are used. You can grate the skin and add the gratings to prepare foods like meat and poultry to bring out the delicious flavor when they are cooked. The juice is also added in varying amounts for bringing out the taste and flavor to salads and other creative dishes. You can also squeeze the juice out of a cut lime and add water, sugar, cinnamon and mint to make a refreshing drink. The flavor of a drink like this one is distinctive as well as tasty and has a calming effect on the nervous system.
Lime juice can be used as a light salad dressing. It can also be used for Marinades, seafood and other creative dishes for all occasions. Cocktail blends with the addition of lime juice make it mellow and savory. The taste of steam boiled vegetables is enhanced when you add a small portion of lime juice, together with some melted butter.
Lemons like limes are also called berries in some regions where they are grown. A lime is about six centimeters in length and five centimeters in diameter. Like an an orange, the lime pulp is divided into segments underneath the green or yellow skin. The yellow rind of the ripe lime has a spicy oil which brings out the flavor of cooked foods when it is added to the food mix while cooking.
Bakers love lime juice. The lime oils improve the flavor of their cakes and other pastries. This lemon oil is a natural air freshener and detergent manufacturers use it to make household cleaning products like soap, shampoo, perfume, and other cosmetics.
Lemons grow from a lemon seed and later during harvest can be packaged in healthy gift baskets. After you cut a lemon you pick out the healthy looking seeds. Healthy seeds produce strong healthy plants. Place the seeds in a well drained pot with good soil. Place the seed about an inch deep in the soil. The soil must be moist and not soppy wet. You will see a small sprout in two or three weeks with a greenish yellow tip coming out of the soil.
While the little plant grows you will need to shift the plant around to the sunlight and rotate the pot. This is because the small plant will be attracted to the sunlight to grow and in doing so will lean towards the light. By shifting and rotating the pot you can keep the little plant growing straight up. You must transplant the tiny tree to a permanent location if you want to harvest the limes later. But, you would have to wait about six to ten years before it bears any fruit.
In winter, when the trees are overcome by frost, mites and scales attack the tree. The mites feed on the leaves and fruit. Growers use a special fly trap, protein base vegemite and vinegar and water to treat the affected trees to keep them healthy.
Because the trees flower continuously, they produce fruit at various stages of development over the year. You can harvest around 3000 fruits in a year if the tree is healthy. The lemons ripen naturally in the fall and winter. Growers can pick them while still green and allow them to ripen, cure and then store for sale in the spring and summer.
Healthy gift baskets of regular Lemon Plant are handpicked generally and sold whole. A mechanical device causes too much damage when used for picking lemons. Storage time varies depending upon the degree of ripeness required.