Limes - The Best Citrus

Lime Types

• Key Lime: The Key lime (Citrus aurantifolia (often abbreviated to: C. aurantifolia), or Citrus x aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle), also known as the Mexican lime, West Indian lime or Bartender's lime, has a globose fruit, 2.5-5 cm in diameter (1-2 in), that is yellow when ripe but usually picked green commercially. It is smaller, seedier, has a higher acidity, a stronger aroma, and a thinner rind than that of the Persian lime. It is valued for its unique flavor compared to other limes, with the key lime usually having a more tart and bitter flavor. The name comes from its association with the Florida Keys, where it is best known as the flavoring ingredient in Key lime pie.
• Persian Lime: Persian Lime (Citrus x latifolia), also known as Tahiti lime or Bearss lime, is a citrus fruit grown commercially in the U.S. and sold simply as a "lime". The fruit is about 6 cm in diameter, often with slightly nippled ends, and is usually sold quite green, although it yellows as it reaches full ripeness. It is larger, thicker-skinned, and less aromatic than the key lime, which has a wider agricultural distribution worldwide. The advantages of the Persian lime in commercial agriculture compared to the Key lime are the larger size, absence of seeds, hardiness, absence of thorns on the bushes, and longer fruit shelf life. They are less acidic than key limes and don't have the bitterness that lends to the key lime's unique flavor. Persian limes are commercialized primarily in six sizes, known as 110's, 150's, 175's, 200's, 230's and 250's.
• Kaffir lime: The kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix DC., Rutaceae), also known as kieffer lime, makrut, or magrood, is a type of lime native to Indonesia, commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and widely grown worldwide as a backyard shrub.
  
  The kaffir lime is a rough, bumpy green fruit that grows on very thorny bush with aromatic leaves. It is well suited to container growing. The green lime fruit is distinguished by its bumpy exterior and its small size (approx. 4 cm wide).
• Australian Limes: Australian lime refers to six small citrus species known as lime native to the continent of Australia.
  
  Five are found only in the rainforests of the north. The sixth, the Desert Lime (Citrus glauca), grows in semi-arid areas of southeastern Australia. Two of the five rainforest limes occur naturally in southeast Queensland - the Finger Lime (Citrus australasica) and a small round lime known as the Round Lime or Gympie Lime (Citrus australis) and called Dooja How.
• Spanish Lime (mamoncillo): The mamoncillo (Melicoccus bijugatus), also known as the mamón (although the word is considered obscene in some Spanish speaking countries), chenet, guaya, gnep, ginep, skinnip (in St. Kitts) genip, guinep, ginnip, kenèp (in Haiti), quenepa (in Puerto Rico), akee (in Barbados), Spanish lime, or limoncillo, is a fruit-bearing tree in the soapberry family Sapindaceae, native or naturalised over a wide area of the American tropics including Central America, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela,Guyana, Suriname and the Caribbean. It is a large tree growing up to 30 m high. The leaves are alternate, 8-5 cm long, pinnate with 4 or 6 opposite leaflets (no terminal leaflet), each leaflet 5-10 cm long.
  
  It is grown and cultivated for its ovoid, green fruit, which grow in bunches. The fruit ripen during the summer. The fruit, similar to that of the related lychee, is classified as a drupe. A mamoncillo fruit has a tight and thin but rigid layer of skin, traditionally cracked by the teeth. Inside the skin is the tart, tangy, cream pulp of the fruit, which is sucked by putting the whole fruit inside the mouth (the seed takes most of the volume of what is inside the skin). Despite the light color of the fruit's flesh, the juice stains a dark brown color, and was often used by indigenous Arawak natives to dye cloth.
• Sweet Lime: Citrus limetta is a species of citrus. Common names for varieties of this species include sweet limetta, Mediterranean sweet lemon, sweet lemon, and sweet lime. In India, it is commonly called mousambi, mosambi, or musambi.
  
  It is a small tree which may reach 8 meters in height. The sweet lemon has irregular branches, and relatively smooth, brownish gray bark. It possesses numerous thorns which may become anywhere from 1.5 to 7.5 centimeters long. The petioles of the sweet lemon are narrowly but distinctly winged, and are 8 to 29 millimeters long. It has leaflets rather than leaves, which are obovate and 5.5 to 17 centimeters long, 2.8 to 8 centimeters wide. The apex of the leaflet is acuminate, and the base of the leaflet is rounded. Flowers are white in bud and in bloom, ranging from 2 to 3 centimeters wide. The petals soon fall away, leaving the fruit to grow. The skin of the fruit is light yellow at maturity; the rind is white and about 5 millimeters thick. The pulp is greenish and the juice is sweet rather than acidic.
• Palestine Sweet Lime: The sweet lime, Citrus limettioides Tan. (syn. C. lumia Risso et Poit.), is called limettier doux in French; lima dulce in Spanish; mitha limbu, mitha nimbu, or mitha nebu, in India (mitha meaning "sweet"); quit giây in Vietnam; limûn helou, or succari in Egypt; laymûn-helo in Syria and Palestine. It is often confused with the sweet lemon, C. limetta Tan., (q.v. under LEMON) which, in certain areas, is referred to as "sweet lime". In some of the literature, it is impossible to tell which fruit is under discussion.
  
  The tree, its foliage, and the form and size of the fruit resemble the Tahiti lime; the leaves are serrated and the petioles nearly wingless. The fruit is not at all similar to the Mexican lime. The flowers are borne singly in the leaf axils or in terminal clusters of 2 to 10; the fruits may be solitary or in bunches of 2 to 5.
  
  It is not known where or how the sweet lime originated, but it is thought to be a hybrid between a Mexican-type lime and a sweet lemon or sweet citron. Mediterranean botanists refer to it as native to India. Central and northern India, northern Vietnam, Egypt and other countries around the coasts of Mediterranean, and tropical America, are the chief areas of cultivation. It came to the United States from Saharanpur, India, in 1904 (S. P. I. #10365).
  
  There is very limited culture in California where the fruits produced by desert-grown trees differ markedly from those in cooler coastal regions. It is not grown for its fruit nor used as a rootstock in Florida because of its high susceptibility to viruses. In India and Israel it is much utilized as a rootstock for the sweet orange and other Citrus species.
• Musk Lime: The musk lime is a common plant in the home garden, either as a potted plant or planted in the garden. It grows to about 3-4 meter tall. The fruits are very small compared to other citrus. It is roundish with a smooth, shiny, thin skin. The skin is often made rough and warty by insect damage. Immature fruits are green but turn yellow or orangy when ripe. Inside each fruit are 6-8 segments which often contain seeds. They are very juicy but sour, hence not eaten as dessert but rather as a refreshing fruit juice. They are also commonly pickled with salt, and can also be preserved with sugar as dried fruits. The plants fruits all the year round and can be easily propagated by marcotting as well as from seeds.
• Omani Lime: A small lime with a very strong flavor and fragrant aroma. It is grown in the Middle Eastern country of Oman, it is preserved by boiling in salt water and then dried. It is then used as a seasoning called amani, black lime, dried lime, loomi, lumi or omani. Strongly flavored, with a slightly bitter, fermented flavor, it tastes typically sour and citrusy, but lacks the sweetness of a fresh lime.