It's been just over a decade since Jim Shanley of California-based Shanley Farms started growing finger limes, an exotic fruit native to Australia which is used more like caviar than a citrus fruit.

Used as a garnish in haute cuisine and a darling of foodies, the fruit has traditionally been sold in clamshell packs with Shanley's product sold under the label Citriburst.

Progress has been stunted however, due to what the grower describes as an "identity problem".

"In the U.S. market, let alone most markets, if you take 20 people at random and show them a finger lime they don’t know what it is. The first thing they say is, 'is it a Serrano pepper, is it a pickle?'," he told www.freshfruitportal.com during the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Summit in Orlando over the weekend.

"Our mission was how we defeat the fact God gave us a wonderful product in a horrible package, and my answer was to develop a machine that mechanically removes the pulp and place it in a jar in the same sort of way its companion product, caviar, is packaged.

"We’re introducing that product here at this show. The production line will be operating within the next two weeks."

The finger limes pearls in the 'caviar' jar received a "very nice reception" during the event.

"My foodservice distributors tell me that’s a game changer," he said.

"For example, a San Francisco foodservice distributor told me, ‘do you have any idea how many 500-5,000 plate dinners there are in this town every night?'

"I said 'no' and he picked up the package and said, ‘they all know what this is, it’s not going to be too expensive for them, but they’re not going to squeeze that, they’re not going to take the labor to do that on every plate."

The foodservice operator reportedly then told Shanley "‘you’ve got a game changer because you’re ineligible now and you get eligible as soon as I get that jar".

The product can come in a small size of 25g, meant for a serving size of about eight portions, while the other is oriented toward the foodservice industry with a size of 100g.

"The capacity from the first production line will allow me to process about 400 pounds of limes into about 180 pounds of pearls per day.

Lauren Taylor and Jim Shanley

"We’re actually at the peak of our season. The harvest is always a bell curve – it starts with a bit of fruit in early June and ends with a little bit of fruit in January unless there’s a weather event that cuts us off prior to that."

When asked about the possibility of counterseasonal supply from Australia, Shanley said he would love to have year-round product but current phytosanitary restrictions would not allow it.

However, he is currently investigating whether it would be possible to set up his machinery in Australia and have the processed finger lime pearls allowed into the United States.

"It would be sealed so there’s no possible contamination with any sort of phytosanitary regulation, however I have not researched whether or not that falls within the law. I’m speculating on that."

He said while there were 70 finger lime cultivars available in Australia, there was only one variety that had been released for production in the U.S.

"A partner and I have actually imported two more but that pulp, the actual produce from those trees, is at least five years away.

"The budwood actually has to be flown to Washington D.C. and it has to be cleared by a lab there, then it goes to the university into a clean room type of environment and they reproduce the wood in such a way so as not to include the possibility of carrying diseases like tristeza with them.

"It’s quite involved, it’s quite expensive and it’s something you need to be really serious about if you’re going to take all that time, money and trouble."

Shanley Farms currently has 20 acres of land dedicated to the crop.

Related story: Aussie native citrus on show at Asia Fruit Logistica

U.S.: Shanley Farms to diversify finger lime product range

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