Old Sour - Preserving the Key Lime Harvest

After the hurricane devastated the Key lime crop in southern Florida in the 1920s, the area was re-developed, not as agricultural acreage, but as residential housing. From then until the 1990s, the commercial availability of the Key lime was more-or-less non-existent. (sad face emoticon) Somehow or other, the Mexicans also had commercial crops of the Key lime, which they call: lima agria. Oddly there is no word for lemon in Mexican, it's all lima. So if you want a lemon, it's lima amarillo. If you want a Key lime, it's lima agria. When the lime was reintroduced in the US market, at first it sold for 3 pounds for a dollar. Now it's a dollar a pound.

To preserve the Key lime harvest (or your purchase), in order to honor the time of it's first commercial sucess, do as follows:

OLD SOUR

16 fluid ounces of ripe Key limes (yellow or yellow spotted)
1 tablespoon of salt
3 to 4 chile piquin or tepin (small round or small oblong)

Juice limes, add salt, add chiles. Cover tighty. Age 6 weeks before use. Shake drops on fish, dessert, fruit or fruit salad, Jello, eggs for breakfast, and into certain cocktails of your choosing, where the sour will be a welcome addition.

Thanks to Charles Baker for this info. The Old Sour recipe is all over the internet.