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SITTING IN A Mexican bar in Washington DC, Maria complained that “using lemon instead of lime in a margarita is like using onions instead of garlic.”
But for Americans, lemon margaritas may just be coming to restaurants, thanks to the skyrocketing price of limes.
“The prices started to shoot up in March. Before, a case of 200 limes cost us $45 [€32]. Then it jumped to $85 [€60]. Today, it’s worth $160 [115],” said Joahna Hernandez, manager of Casa Oaxaca, a Mexican restaurant in Washington.
Raising the price of margaritas, the traditional Mexican cocktail made from tequila and lime juice, is out of the question, Hernandez said, because the restaurant doesn’t want to scare off customers.
But bottles of Corona, the popular Mexican beer, no longer come garnished with a slice of lime. “Now we use slices of lemons,” she said.
“It’s not the same thing,” sighed Maria, sipping her drink. But her friend Luis disagrees. “It doesn’t matter to me, as long as there is alcohol in it.”
At Don Juan, a popular bistro where Salvadoran and Mexican immigrants hang out amid high decibel music, Juanita has another solution.
“Limes are so expensive, we’ve had to use concentrate” for cocktails, confided the waitress. “And now, customers have to ask for lime slices, or else we won’t offer them to them.”
Around 95 per cent of the limes consumed in the United States come from Mexico. And when the supply dries up, the problem spreads across the US.
Trafficking in limes
The lime shortage can be traced to multiple sources, including a surge in fungal and disease problems, exacerbated by heavy rains and flooding in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Veracruz and Michoacan, said Jonathan Crane, University of Florida professor and an expert on citrus fruit.
He explained:
Weather increases fungal problems, so the flooding causes disease problems of the roots, high humidity and rainfall causes disease problem of the flowers and the leaves and the fruits. You have a combination of weather disaster and diseases.
But perhaps more disastrously, Mexican drug cartels have begun to see a previously untapped value in the lime trade.
Traffickers are doing with limes “what they already did with avocados,” Hernandez explained.
“They appropriate the crops and control whole communities. They are trying to control lime production,” she said.
Hoarding supply
The cartels also benefit from the fact that the United States is no longer imposing quality standards on imported limes.
Crane speculated the lime trade was an attempt to launder drug money through a legitimate export.
If “there’s no quality standard, I would pick any lime possible and sell it and make big money,” he said.
Then, as distributors saw the looming shortage, said Hernandez, they “hoarded the little supply they had and now sell them at the highest price possible.”
“Limes are essential”
The dearth of limes is hitting Americans hard, who are often avid consumers of Mexican cuisine.
“To the Mexican cuisine, limes are essential. Absolutely,” said Lou Temprosa, head chef at Centro DF, a Washington institution.
The green fruit is a crucial ingredient in many dishes, including guacamole, salsa, and ceviche — a traditional concoction of raw fish marinated in lime juice.
“There are other ways to get around that,” Temprosa said, but it’s nothing like “the real thing.” He vowed his restaurant won’t change its dishes, despite the shortage.
But meanwhile, “our prices have not gone up, (and) we pay the bill,” he sighed.
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That man was a true legend. A real movie star who ate up the screen. Made a number of movies in Ireland and was never less than a real talent. Never really hit the heights but he was still cool enough to do a turn for Tarantino in Inglorious B*stards a couple of years ago. Could have watched him in anything.
I’d say the time machine would be one of his best performances when he has to face the morlocks. When I was a child they frightened the life out of me and gave me terrible nightmares. I look at the film now and laugh at how badly they look.
I had nightmares for years about the Morlocks.
‘The Time Machine’ was my own favourite.
Remember when He was on the late late show with Oliver Reed, & Gay Byrne goaded the two of them into arm wrestling on the studio floor….??
ps. Rod Taylor won.
The Late Late was mighty back then …. most of the guests were piddled !
Yeah, – like the night Oliver Reed was trying to get the leg over Susan George.
Thanks for the memories. And he was sooooo handsome to boot.
Morlocks!
Was great in the movie ‘Hotel’ as well..and in the ‘VIP’s'… old school actor who did it as it should be done.
He opened waterford city shopping centre with gay Byrne in the mid to late 70′s…remember thinking as a child ooh that’s the guy from bobcats which was shown on rte.obviously shooting one of his irish movies at the time.loved him in time machine another where he played a mercinary fighting in the Belgian Congo.
The Mercenaries, that and the Time Machine were his best movies
Great movie.
I used to love watching him in “Bearcats” years ago, what a show.
For me ” The Birds” from his movies and “Bearcats ” from his tv series.
A great old-style actor who never quite achieved the success and accolades he deserved. The Time Machine is one of my favourite films head and shoulders above the more recent remake.
The Time Machine is a movie ill always watch when its on telly, he was excellent in it. Don’t know why that descendant of H.G Wells had such a problem with it, probably more loyal to the book than his noughties version was
Sad news
Birds is it ?
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