Since all of this gloomy and now freezing cold weather makes us only wish that we could be laying on a beach in Aruba, or on one of those awesome looking huts standing in the water in Bora Bora, I’d like to offer an escape from Michigan icky-ness with one of the most quintessential tropical flavors: lime. This tart and refreshing flavor has been used and documented for the last 2 millennia and works just as well in any recipe as it does for chasing a shot of tequila.

A cousin to lemons within the citrus family, limes are 1.5 times as acidic as lemons and are abundant in tropical areas. They’re frequently used in cuisine from India, Mexico and other countries near where they are harvested. There are three basic types of lime: Tahitian/Persian, Mexican, and key. Tahitian limes are large, with a pale, finely-grained pulp and a very acidic flavor. Mexican limes are smaller, with bright green skins and a very aromatic taste.  Rounding out the bunch are key limes,  which are closely related to the Mexican varietyand are a pale yellowish-green fruit, very juicy with a strong, sharp flavor (might want to use a different word than flavor because you already used it two sentences prior). They emit an extremely distinctive aroma from its thin green rind, making the zest crucial to a fantastic key lime pie.