Blimey: A lime crisis in our midst
All the makings of my favorite cocktail: the gin and tonic.
I always ask for two limes in my gin and tonic. That might have to change.
Just as G&T season is getting underway — though for some of us it runs year-round — lime prices are squeezing the pocketbook. That’s a result, I’ve read, of bad weather and a disease that’s killing the citrus trees in Mexico.
At Fred Meyer this week, limes were 98 cents each; at New Seasons, they were $4.98 a pound. I bought five limes at Fred’s and then weighed them. They were 1 pound, so the prices at the two stores were pretty much even. But I’ve noticed that the limes I’ve bought recently are woody and not so juicy. That’s bad news for mojitos and daiquiris as well as my go-to gin and tonic at cocktail time. It’s also not good for Mexican and Vietnamese restaurants, either.
According to The Seattle Times, some bars are raising prices for drinks with lime juice. And the reporter swears she hasn’t seen a lime on a G&T for weeks. Let’s just hope this lime crisis doesn’t last too long.
Cheers!
Janet Cleaveland
What happens when a retired journalist spends a lot more time in the kitchen than in past years? She tries new dishes and jumps at the chance to write a blog about food, family and good times. My kids are grown now, but I'll be looking back at how they learned to cook, what recipes my husband (the Intrepid One) and I are experimenting with, and how food and conversation make for happy times in the kitchen. I worked for The Columbian for 15 years as a copy editor and another 10 elsewhere, though I didn't start out as a journalist. I thought I wanted to teach English literature. My husband grew up in Clark County, and I've lived here since 1983. My kids have grown and left home. Like my husband of 52 years, our adopted chocolate Lab would never pass up a chance for a tasty meal.