Black Lime is a versatile ingredient with a famously savory and tart flavor. Burlap & Barrel's black lime comes from a family farm in Guatemala. The limes are sun-dried, then ground into an easy-to-use powder. Common in Persian cooking, Black Lime is also great on roasted meat or vegetables, in stews and anywhere you'd use lime juice. It's also a good alternative to Makrut (lime leaves) in southeast Asian dishes.

• 2.8oz (79g) glass container 
• Ingredients: sun-dried Persian lime, ground 
• Tasting notes: citrus peel, sauvignon blanc, leather 
• Cooking tips: sprinkle into rice, soups, fish and kebabs, tossy with veggies prior to roasting, use as garnish for cocktails. 

Burlap & Barrel's Sourcing

Burlap & Barrel's ground black lime is sourced from Guatemala from farm partner Don Amilcar, one of Burlap & Barrel's longest partnerships. He grows cardamon and the limes that are dried to make ground black limes. 

Cecilia and her husband Jonathan work together with Emilio (Milo) to run the drying facility two hours outside Guatemala City. Cecilia's father learned how to dry limes from a Middle Eastern spice buyer in the 1970s, and they made a family business of drying and grinding the limes that grow abundantly in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. (They are not used in the local cuisine, but Cecilia makes a mean lemon pie with the ground black lime.)

Cecilia, Jonathan and Milo oversee a hand-built drying area of rows of raised earth platforms that stretch as far as the eye can see. Furrows between the rows give the lime juice an outlet to run off into as they dry. It takes 2-3 months for the limes to transform from bright green fresh fruit to sun-cured, blackened, hard limes. The process is overseen by workers who turn the limes throughout the day, ensuring they dry evenly. 

Meet Don Amilcar

Photos and information provided by Burlap & Barrel