Ever think about where the food on your table really comes from? Maybe not, but it is sometimes a very interesting story. The fact is that a lot of plants don't originate in the places that are most associated with them. I discovered this when researching a book about Thai food a few years ago (sadly, it was never published). I found out that, although the chili pepper is widely associated with Thai cuisine, the chili plant is not native to Thailand, or even Asia. That discovery, along with the ones that followed, form the basis of this web site.

"Traveling Chili" is the story of the journeys plants have taken around the world, to end up at our supermarkets and on our tables. The facts are sometimes stranger than fiction, and there are even one or two radical make-overs along the way. This site also shares some of the local knowledge I've gained about how some foods are used, and I might even share a recipe or two.

You're welcome to comment on any of the articles here, and if you'd like to contribute, feel free to Contact Us with your ideas.

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Limes are available in great abundance all year round, and are used in a number of dishes to provide sourness, which is one of the four basic tastes that every dish attempts to balance (the other three tastes are spicy, salty and sweet.) Some people translate the Thai word manao as "lemon" but since the skin of the Thai citrus fruit is mostly dark green, I prefer to call them limes. Thai limes are almost perfectly round in shape, rather than oblong like a lemon. The skin is quite thin, making it hard to zest.

A big pile of limes in the market.

So extensive is the use of fresh lime juice in cooking that the stalls usually sell them by the dozen, while the owners of food stalls may purchase a bag holding three or four dozen from the wholesale market. A dozen limes will usually cost around 25 U.S. cents. Such is the importance of limes to Thais that an M.P. felt it necessary to bring to parliament’s attention the fact that the price of limes had exceeded nine Baht (about 30 U.S. cents) during Thailand’s boom years.

In addition to using the juice as an ingredient, many noodle and fried rice dishes are served with a lime wedge as one of the condiments. A squeeze of fresh lime juice over fried rice may not sound delicious, but the taste is quite good.

Limes originated around the Malay peninsula, where they have been cultivated since pre-history.