Kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix DC., Rutaceae), also known as kieffer
lime, is native to Indonesia but widely grown worldwide as a
backyard shrub. A very thorny bush with aromatic leaves. The rough
bumpy fruit is inedible but its oil has strong insecticidal
properties. Well suited to container growing. The green lime fruits
are distinguished by their bumpy exterior and their small size
(approx. 4 cm wide), and the hourglass-shaped leaves (actually, the
leaf and the leaf-shaped stem or phyllode) are widely used in
Cambodian, Thai, and Lao Cuisine.
Kaffir lime leaves are also popular in the Cambodia, but less so in
Vietnam. Malay, Burmese and Indonesian (especially, Balinese and
Javanese; see also Indonesian bay leaf) cuisines use them
sporadically with chicken and fish.
The leaves can be used fresh or dried, and can be stored frozen.
Although the most common product of the kaffir lime tree is its
leaves (which impart a sharp lime/neroli flavour to Cambodian base
paste known as "Krueng", Thai dishes such as tom yum, and to
Indonesian food such as sayur assam - literally sour vegetables),
the juice and rinds of the small, dark green gnarled fruit (known as
jeruk obat - literally medicine citrus) are used in traditional
As for the zest, it is widely used in creole cuisine and to impart
flavor to "arranged" rums in the Réunion island and Madagascar.