Awhile back, I caught the tail end of a Twitter conversation in which many folks were discussing memories of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. During the back and forth, the subject of pickled limes came up, as they related to the moment in the story when Amy has her precious limes taken away and her hands beaten for bringing them to school. A suggestion was made that someone (cough, cough, Marisa, cough) try their hand at making some pickled limes.
I remember that book fondly as well (although I’ve always been more enamored with the chapter in Little Men when a young girl is given the gift of a miniature stove and kitchen set and taught to prepare tiny meals. It is a true foodie delight) and was always curious about those pickled limes over which Amy was paddled.
I’ve taken up the project (I’m highly suggestible) of finding a way to make a batch similar to which Amy would have eaten, and while there’s much mention of pickled limes on the internet, there’s not much in the way of consensus as to how exactly her limes would have been prepared. I’ve consulted the knowledgeable Mrs. Beeton, and she offered two recipes for pickled lemons (and as far as I can tell, preparation would probably have been identical for limes). However one recipe calls for the lemons/limes to be pickled with the peels on, while the other has the cook remove the peel.
For those of you who are as curious about this as I am, what do you think? Peels on or peels off?
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Comments ( 11 )
1. Livia added this comment on May 07 09 at 1:34 amI was going to say that it would most likely have the peel on to look better and hold its shape…
But then I went back to Little Women, and the packaging is described as, “A moist brown-paper parcel,” which sounds more like peel off to me.
2. tigress added this comment on May 07 09 at 7:18 ammy vote is for peels on. I have a batch of lemons and a batch of limes pickling now – and i am about to do another batch of lemons with a different recipe this weekend – all with peels on. i am sure that these three recipes are different than the little woman limes because they all have indian spices in them. but in my book, i can’t imagine pickled limes or lemons without the peels! they are the best part! i am looking forward to hearing about your experiment marisa!
3. yoko added this comment on May 07 09 at 9:45 amPeels on, definitely! My mouth is puckering just thinking about them.
4. Lisa G. added this comment on May 07 09 at 10:05 amBoth! But if you have to pick- peels on first.
5. Sarah added this comment on May 07 09 at 10:13 amOH my god! I forgot about the pickled limes!
My vote is for peels on. But then again, I always envisioned them as more candied than pickled when I was reading (a distinction I never thought about until now).
6. Sarah added this comment on May 07 09 at 11:20 amI make pickled limes by slicing key limes in half and layering them in jars with salt. I really pack the salt in. Then I set them out in the sun for a few weeks. After that you make a drink out of muddled, pickled limes, simple syrup, and soda water. I’m glad you brought this up, because I forgot that I have a jar to be used hanging out on my canning rack now!
7. Erin added this comment on May 07 09 at 11:27 amI think you have to try both. Also how excited am I about this project?! I’ll finally be able to try Amy’s pickled limes. The world may never be the same.
8. Bird added this comment on May 07 09 at 9:50 pmPeels, please, is what I say:)
9. Lauren added this comment on May 09 09 at 12:19 amI am cracking up about the Little Men comment. That was – hands-down – the best part of that book. I’m going to have to go dig that up and re-read it tonight, and it’s already late for me.
(Another childhood food book? Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Oh! The descriptions!)
10. Tenaya Darlington added this comment on May 13 09 at 12:14 pmOooo, I don’t remember this reference. Now I’ll have to go look it up. Sarah’s recipes for sliced, salted limes in jars sounds amazing. I’ve made pickled lemons from the recipe that David Lebovitz has on his blog, and they’re divine. I use the pickling juice in bloody marys, which gives them a salty, citrusy zing. Divine.
Tenaya, I’ve always meant to make David Lebovitz’s pickled lemons. I’ve also got a recipe from a Sunkist trip I went on last winter that sounds amazing. Ah, pickles!
-Marisa
11. sue added this comment on Jun 07 09 at 10:51 amWhy would anyone want to eat pickled limes?
