y Margarita Persico Limber is like an Italian icy, but with a tropical flair according to the natural fruit flavor. The icy treat got its unusual name in honor of Charles A. Lindbergh, the first pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. When Lindbergh flew alone to Puerto Rico on his 26th birthday, on February 4, 1928, he was offered a frozen fruit juice. He enjoyed it and since then the locals started freezing the juice and called it Limber in honor of the man who inspired this much loved frozen treat. When I was a little girl during my vacations to Puerto Rico to visit family I noticed that in many neighborhoods there were ladies who from their kitchen or living room sold “limbers” to make extra money to help with home expenses. Limber was the most refreshing treat I had during the hot Caribbean summer vacations. I played and ran around in the sweltering hot Caribbean days during my visits to grandma Celeste who lived at a costal neighborhood in Ponce. There was no air conditioning at grandma Celeste’s home. Sucking on a limber “Popsicle” was like being in paradise. The creamy coconut melted in my mouth as the icicles liquefied. And though I didn’t know then why I loved the lemon and pineapple limbers, it helped my digestion, and the peanut butter limber gave me the much needed protein to continue playing. But one thing I always knew limbers did for me and it still does for the eternal little girl in me, it brings a smile to my lips. Please Like us on Facebook limbers LIMBER’S HISTORY AND 4 RECIPES Limbers de Puerto Rico Photo: Mollex @ photobucket FOR MORE HEALTHY RECIPES, CLICK HERE The ladies that sold limber in Puerto Rico made the limbers from local fruits picked from their own back yards. Mango limbers came from the huge mango trees that perhaps shaded and cooled their home and backyard giving them the sweet fragrant fruit, the mango, loaded with vitamins and fiber fruit that also afford them the opportunity to make the much needed extra money. They made the limber by blending or mixing the fruits and freezing the juices in ice cube trays or cups. They sold the limber ice cubes for .05 cents and the cups for about .50 cents. I particularly enjoyed the mango, coconut, peanut butter, pineapple and lemon limbers. I remember one lady who sold peanut butter limber, which was my favorite. When I recently asked my cousin Lucy, via Facebook, about limber, she answered: “That’s what I’m eating now! 3:17 p.m. I make them at home from the backyard’s mango tree and add lemon and honey,” says Lucy. She says that when she was little, though our grandmother Tina would not allow it, she would sneak out on her bike and sell limber for .05 cents. “Then Marta, a neighbor, made them in small cups and sold for .25 cents, later she started doing them in larger cups, 8 ounces, and sold for .50 [cents],” remembered Lucy. Below are several limber recipes such as the healthy Coconut and Pineapple Limbers, which are cholesterol and diary-free (no milk, no condensed milk), and without sacrificing taste. Enjoy! ¡Buen provecho!
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 02:52:51 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015