Pink lemons and red limes seem like something out of a Starburst commercial. You cut into ordinary looking fruit, and out comes a fuchsia rainbow. But they’re not just CGI cartoon inventions. They are, in fact, real citrus varieties, and you can grow them at home. I want to write that sentence in all caps. YOU CAN GROW RED LIMES! AT HOME! The world is crazy and awesome. Plants are amazing. I had a dental procedure this morning, and it could still be the novocaine talking, but I think my enthusiasm is completely warranted.

Let’s start with those pink lemons. I had a pink thing as a kid. Pink bedspread, pink dresses, Cherry 7Up. If it was pink, I wanted it. I’m mostly recovered, but still, if I were going to dye my hair a crazy color, I’d dye it pink, and to this day when presented with the option of regular lemonade or pink lemonade, I always, absolutely choose pink. I mean, how could you not? Other than the whole carcinogenic red food coloring thing.

Which gets me back to pink lemons. They’re a game changer. They’re not going to make their way into industrial lemonade any time soon, but I could make lemonade at home. Out of lemons I grew. And it would be PINK. The official name of the variety is Citrus limon ‘Eurka Variegated Pink’. And it’s a very happy patio plant. Greg, if you’re reading this, I would like a pink lemon tree for Valentine’s Day. Thank you.

Pink lemons, however, are far from the end of the fun. I promised you red limes, and RED LIMES you shall have. Ta da:

It’s a variety called Citrus australasica ‘Australia Blood Lime’.  When you cut into them, the fruit can range from lime green to a color closer to the red of a blood orange. Either way, the flavor is tart and acidic.

All this love of pink and red is not to undersell the wonders of yellow and green fruit. In fact, to be clear, if I were ranking lemon and lime trees, I’d say super-juicy-not-too-sour Meyer lemon first, called-for-in-every-Thai-recipe Kaffir lime second. Pink and red are exciting supplements. So let’s take a look at Kaffir lime:

(image)

Nubbly and cool and so much nicer to pluck them off your own tree than to have to traipse all over town to track them down.

And finally, a moment of respect for the lovely Meyer.

(image)

They may not be pink, but they’re still sooo pretty and delicious.

Tags: citrus, lemons, lime