Though the juice is infrequently used in cooking, the zest of the
rind is often used for making curry pastes. The lime belongs to
the family Rutaceae and genus Citrus. Originally the Kaffir
Lime was considered inferior to other limes until the unique
flavour of its oil in the leaves and in the zest was discovered.
Since it belongs to the genus Citrus, it is believed that the peel
contains a wholesome amount of pectin which fewer studies
have reported. Kaffir lime peel could be included in the list of
fruits naturally possessing relatively large amount of pectin
provided that the best extraction method is known. Kaffir lime
being one of the notable citrus fruit has limited research
reporting of the pectin content in its peel. It is highly notable
that the peel, twig and leaves of the Kaffir lime are used to
extract citrus oil which is used majorly by the food industry.
The Kaffir lime peels, if treated as waste materials, may create
environmental problems, particularly water pollution, since the
presence of biomaterials in Kaffir lime peels such as peel oil,
pectin, as well as sugar, stimulate aerobic bacteria to decompose
the biodegradable organic matters into products such as carbon
dioxide, nitrates, sulfates and phosphates in water.