Limes is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store them, what to substitute, and 492 recipes to get you started.
Key Points
One Persian lime yields about 2 tablespoons of juice; a quarter cup needs two limes.
Roll a room-temperature lime firmly before cutting to release noticeably more juice.
Zest before juicing with a microplane, taking only the green layer, not the bitter pith.
Lemon swaps one-to-one but loses lime's floral note; fresh beats bottled for raw uses.
Limes keep about two weeks bagged in the fridge; freeze juice in ice-cube trays.
What are limes?
Limes deliver a bright, slightly floral acidity that lemon does not quite match. The juice cuts fat and balances sweetness, and the green zest carries fragrant oils that perfume a dish before you even taste the sourness.
The common supermarket lime is the Persian lime, seedless and tart. The smaller Key lime is more aromatic and more acidic, the one true key lime pie depends on. A recipe that just says "lime" means the Persian kind.
Limes show up in more than 450 recipes here, most of them savory.
How to Use a Lime
A lime is stingier with juice than a lemon. One average Persian lime gives about 2 tablespoons of juice, so a recipe asking for ¼ cup needs two limes, and a half cup needs four or five.
Get the most out of each one. Bring the lime to room temperature, then roll it firmly under your palm on the counter before cutting. That ruptures the juice sacs inside, and a warm, rolled lime gives noticeably more than a cold one straight from the fridge.
Zest before you juice, never after; a halved lime is impossible to zest cleanly. Use a microplane and take only the green layer, stopping before the bitter white pith. The oils in the zest fade fast once grated, so use it right away.
Cooking and Pairing
Lime is the defining acid in ceviche. The juice denatures the proteins in raw fish and shellfish, turning them opaque and firm without any heat.
A final squeeze added off the heat wakes up a dish that has gone flat during simmering. Lime loves coconut, mango, chili, cilantro, and tequila, and it carries dishes from Lime Chicken to a Chicken Key Lime Curry.
The mistake to avoid is long-cooking the zest. Simmer it for a while and the fragrant oils cook off and what is left turns bitter, so stir zest in near the end.
Lime Versus Lemon, and Other Swaps
Lemon is the everyday stand-in, roughly one-to-one by juice, but it reads cleaner and less floral, so the dish loses lime's particular character. For something closer, cut lemon juice with a small splash of orange juice.
Bottled lime juice is fine in a cooked marinade but tastes flat and dull anywhere it stays raw, like cocktails, ceviche, and fresh salsa, where only the fresh-squeezed kind works.
For zest, lemon zest is the nearest match. Use dried lime powder only in recipes built for it, since it overpowers fast.
Buying and Storing
Choose limes that feel heavy for their size with smooth, glossy skin and a little give. Rock-hard fruit is underripe, and brown or wrinkled skin means it is drying out.
At room temperature limes keep about a week. In the crisper drawer, sealed in a bag so they hold their moisture, they last up to two weeks before the skin toughens and the juice dwindles.
For the long haul, juice them and freeze the juice in an ice-cube tray, then bag the cubes; one cube is roughly a tablespoon. Zest freezes well too in a small sealed container, ready to drop straight into a dish.
Types of limes
Specific kinds of limes and the recipes that use them.
Lime juice is the sharp, green-citrus acid squeezed from limes. It is the single most useful sour note in a Mexican, Thai, Caribbean, or cocktail-leaning kitchen.
It runs more bracing and a touch more bitter than lemon, with a floral edge that makes it the right choice for anything tropical or chile-forward.
One average lime yields about 2 tablespoons of juice, so a recipe calling for ¼ cup needs roughly two limes. Fresh is the only version worth squeezing into food: bottled lime juice loses its top notes fast and tastes flat by comparison.
Lime zest is the thin green outer layer of the lime peel, grated off in fine shavings. That colored skin is packed with aromatic oils, so zest carries pure lime perfume with none of the sourness of the juice.
It is where the real lime flavor lives. A teaspoon of zest perfumes a whole cake or a bowl of dressing far more than juice can, because the oils survive heat that would dull fresh juice.
Always zest before you juice. A squeezed-out half is slippery and hard to grip against a grater.
Kaffir lime leaves are the glossy, dark-green leaves of the kaffir lime tree, and they are one of the defining aromas of Thai and wider Southeast Asian cooking. Each leaf has an unmistakable figure-eight shape, two lobes joined end to end, as if two leaves grew nose to tail.
The fragrance is the point. Crush a leaf and you get an intense floral-citrus perfume, cleaner and more piney than lime juice, with none of the sourness. It is what gives a Thai curry or a bowl of tom yum that signature lift.
You will also see them sold as makrut lime leaves, a name many cooks and stores now prefer.
Key lime juice comes from key limes, the small golf-ball-sized limes also called Mexican or West Indian limes. They are sharper and far more aromatic than the big Persian limes you usually find at the store.
The juice is the whole reason key lime pie tastes the way it does. It is more perfumed than regular lime juice, with a slightly bitter edge that cuts the sweetness of condensed milk better than anything else.
Key limes are tiny and full of seeds, so juicing enough for a pie by hand is real work. Many cooks reach for a good bottled key lime juice instead, and for once that is a defensible call.
Kaffir lime rind is the bumpy, dark-green peel of the makrut lime, a knobbly Southeast Asian citrus grown more for its fragrant skin and leaves than its scant juice. The rind carries an intense, floral lime perfume, brighter and more complex than ordinary lime zest.
Many cooks and writers now prefer the name makrut lime to avoid an old slur attached to "kaffir."
The fruit itself is small and gnarled, with thick, wrinkled skin and almost no usable flesh. It is the aromatic oils in that outer rind, and in the tree's hourglass-shaped double leaves, that make it indispensable in Thai, Lao, Cambodian, and Indonesian cooking.
Margarita on the rocks shakes premium gold tequila with Triple Sec, Grand Marnier, and sweet and sour mix, poured over ice into a salt-rimmed glass. The double hit of orange liqueur gives this classic cocktail extra depth and punch.
Spicy blueberry citrus marmalade simmers orange, lemon, and lime rinds with fresh blueberries, sugar, and a kick of crushed red pepper into a sweet-tart-spicy preserve. Made for canning and gifting.
Classic gazpacho, the chilled Spanish tomato soup with fresh tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, garlic, and a bright lime-and-lemon finish. No-cook summer dish, ready after a 2-hour chill.
A welcome twist on the classic banana bread recipe. It incorporates the rich, aromatic flavor of vanilla beans to elevate the taste of the moist and tender banana bread. The vanilla bean adds a depth of flavor and a subtle sweetness that perfectly complements the natural sweetness of the ripe bananas.
Mexican street-corn-inspired grilled corn rubbed with lime wedges dipped in chili-amchoor spice. Vegetarian summer BBQ side with bright tang and gentle heat.
Kukul Mus Thakkali, a Sri Lankan chicken and tomato curry with coconut milk, lemongrass, curry leaves, fenugreek and cardamom. Marinated and simmered for rich, layered flavor.
I had these for breakfast frequently when staying in Tlaqupaque, Mexico outside Guadalajara. Here's my version that recreates this local specialty. I haven't seen them anywhere else. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo.
A simple salad with big health credentials: avocados are an excellent source of good fats, and more recently have been shown to also inhibit inflammation when eaten in combination with foods that typically trigger it. They are also a rich source of potassium (which balances sodium to keep blood pressure levels stable) and vitamin E, an important antioxidant.
Herb-roasted Thanksgiving turkey with fresh sage, marjoram, and thyme tucked right under the skin and a lemon-lime glaze brushed on at the end for a glossy, citrus-bright finish. The holiday centerpiece, done simply.
Edamame, carrot, and avocado salad tossed in a bright orange-lime and ginger-sesame dressing with black sesame seeds and cilantro. A fresh, protein-rich vegan, gluten-free side.
This tasty couscous salad has layers of delicious flavors and great textures. Chipotle chili in adobo sauce adds some smokiness, a touch cumin gives extra tang. Serve it as a side dish or a light and refreshing main course.
Had some butternut squash, home-boiled black beans and corn tortillas that needed to be used up. This recipe sounded like a perfect fit, and it was very filling and delicious too.
Mango sorbet whirls ripe mango puree with simple syrup, lime, and lemon for a velvet-smooth tropical dessert. A six-ingredient summer freezer treat with optional rum.
To me, fish tacos are the best during summer. There is no real reason behind this, besides that I just think they taste better, and after a winter full of heavy soups and stews, there is nothing like a light and fresh tasting fish taco.
To me, fish tacos are the best during summer. There is no real reason behind this, besides that I just think they taste better, and after a winter full of heavy soups and stews, there is nothing like a light and fresh tasting fish taco.
Oven-charred carrots and red peppers turn naturally sweet when roasted, then pureed into a velvety soup with lime zest and cinnamon. Vegan, gluten-free comfort in a bowl.
This delicious Thai curry soup is packed with goodness and great flavour. It warms you up instantly. Perfect for a cold winter supper when served with a bowl of rice.
This delicious Thai curry soup is packed with goodness and great flavour. It warms you up instantly. Perfect for a cold winter supper when served with a bowl of rice.
A batch cranberry cosmopolitan you mix by the pitcher, vodka, cranberry, lime, and Cointreau with a fresh ginger kick. Shake to frosty, strain into a sugar-rimmed glass, and serve a crowd.
A key lime chiffon pie: tart key lime curd lightened with gelatin, fluffy meringue, and whipped cream, set in a graham crust. An airy, cloud-light take on key lime pie, far lighter than the condensed-milk version.
Authentic Thai street-style pad thai with chewy rice noodles, shrimp, tamarind, and fish sauce. Quick wok-tossed noodles with cashews and lime in 20 minutes.
Authentic Pad Thai with shrimp, chicken, and rice ribbon noodles in a dry-coat sauce of yellow bean, fish sauce, and tomato paste. Finished with peanuts, bean sprouts, lime, and cilantro the way a Bangkok street stall would.
Shredded chicken enchiladas in corn tortillas smothered with homemade tomatillo verde sauce, bubbly Monterey Jack, and cool sour cream. Make-ahead friendly and packed with green chile flavor. Feeds six.
A quick, easy and flavorful salad. I added a bit chopped red onion, and used lemon juice instead of lime juice, and it was very tasty. Next time I will use pickled jalapeno, which I think will make the salad taste even better.
This soup came out so tasty and flavorful. The pan-fried tortilla strips added some nice crunch, and I also served the soup with some sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese, cilantro and scallions. It was an easy, light yet tasty soup.
Margarita cheesecake spiked with tequila, triple sec, and fresh lime on a graham crust, crowned with a tangy lime sour cream topping. The cocktail you love, in creamy sliceable form.
This is a vegetarian version of black bean-taco salad. The dressing is so refreshing and tasty, which makes this bean and veggie salad taste still delicious.
Quinoa is a kind of seeds that contains lots of protein, this healthy seed is versatile to prepare, such as this salad. It's delicious and packed with goodness. A great side dish or a whole some meatless main course.
Strawberry liqueur jam made in the microwave with fresh strawberries, green apple for natural pectin, lime juice, and a splash of Grand Marnier or Cointreau. A small-batch jam ready in under an hour.
Black bean hummus with tahini, lime, garlic, and cumin. A southwestern twist on the classic chickpea spread, vegan and ready in 5 minutes in the food processor. Smooth, smoky, and dippable.
A bit sweet, sour with slightly spicy, this Thai cauliflower curry has lots of deliciousness that coconut milk, fish sauce and Thai curry paste have delivered. Serve it over a bed of rice that helps to soak up all the goodness.
