Most folks know Thai lime leaf by its un-politically correct name, kaffir leaf, or kaffir lime leaf. Other names for the citrus are combava, limau purut, daun jeruk perut, makroot (makrut, magrood), chan sác, wild lime, and kieffer lime.

The tree is native to Southeast Asia and Indochina and is commonly used in most of those native cuisines. It should never, ever be called kaffir lime.

Why is it offensive to use the word “kaffir”? Kaffir, kaffer, or kafir originates in South Africa (...