"There must be SOMETHING else we can do with them, apart from 1,000 Thai green curries??!!"
We were talking about the Kaffir Lime tree in the garden, which is currently growing like crazy and quite literally raining down Kaffir Lime fruits. Thai culture does use the highly fragrant and medicinal dried kaffir lime skin in its Thai Herbal Compress Balls used in traditional Thai massage, but since so many countries now no longer allow the importation of products containing kaffir lime skin (due to highly communicable citrus tree diseases) generally most of the fruits are left to rot.
Kafir Lime (botanically known as Citrus hystrix) is extraordinarily common across Southern India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. In Thai, we call it makrut (TH: มะกรูด). The rind is used to help flavour Thai green curry paste. You will also see Kaffir Limes used extensively in the Creole cuisines of Madagascar, Mauritius and Reunion, where the Kaffir Lime is believed to have originated (hence its name).
The rind IS edible but extremely strong tasting - the juice unbelievable sour-bitter. Tongue-curlingly so.
Pondering how I might possibly use the fruits beyond yet more Thai green curry paste, I started thinking first about the properties of Kaffir Lime;
Kaffir lime essential oil has antibacterial, antidepressant, antiseptic, antiviral, and insect repelling properties. Its bright aroma is stimulating for a tired and cloudy mind and helps ease stress and nervous tension.
When I read that, I immediately thought of the Pomanders of yesteryear - Oranges studded with cloves, to hang in sick rooms and closets to help dispel molds, viruses and bacteria.
Cloves, too, have amazing properties healing properties. They're ridiculously cheap here in Asia (most coming from Indonesia, thanks to my colonial Dutch ancestors). The history of cloves is incredible, and the recorded use of cloves as medicine dates back to China in 240 BC.
The clove has antiseptic properties and has been used as a remedy for ailments associated with the respiratory system, infections of the digestive system and urinary tract infections. It is considered to be useful for infections of both bacterial and viral nature. One of the few scientific studies done on the herb showed that the essential oil is effective against bacteria such as Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Pneumococcus. Cloves are considered to have a slight antihistamine effect. A tea made from cloves has been used to treat hay fever, nasal congestion and sinus pressure. Source
And so this afternoon, I decided to make a few Healing Kaffir Lime & Clove Pomanders - one to hang in my bedroom for easier breathing and better respiratory health, one for my closet to help keep it fragrant and mold-free, and one for our truck to help combat any hitch-hiking germies from passengers and to help dispel the rainy season musty funk that happens after too many wet umbrellas.
Simple process.
Use a large darning needle or a carpenter's nail to poke a hole in the kaffir lime skin. Warning: intense essential oil fragrance overload incoming! It smells simply DIVINE!!
And then poke a clove in the hole you've created. And repeat.
As you can see from my old au naturel front-porch table surface, it didn't matter that it dripped lime juice and oils. Please be warned that Kaffir Lime oil WILL strip and remove paint, so please protect your painted or varnished surfaces.
Use some ribbon to create a hanger, and cover the surface fairly well. The dried cloves will soak up the lime juice and release an amazing fragrance, as well as helping to cleanse the air in your space.
Our grandmothers preserved the last oranges of the season like this and they were sometimes used as ornaments on Yuletide Christmas trees.
Your Pomander will slowly dry out and shrink - but it takes months. The cloves are a natural preservative too and deter mold on the Pomander itself.
Voila!
A simple, household natural-health helper.
Was it easy? Yes, absolutely - a nice natural medicine craft project for older children.
Is it useful? Yes - reducing molds and inhibiting viruses and bacteria in our homes is a smart natural health strategy.
Is it affordable? Depends a little bit on where you live, but for us it was super cheap.
Is it sustainable? Sure - you can compost it when it stops being fragrant and simply make a new one. More importantly, it's using an abundant fruit that's currently rotting on the ground.
Suddenly feeling for a nice Thai green curry paste after thinking about Kaffir Limes - another post for another day on how to make that yourself, at home.
BlissednBlessed by Mother Earth's Healing Abundance.
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