Lime Juice
© Denzil Green
You can make your own juice from limes, or you can buy commercial lime juice that comes either in small bottles or in those small plastic containers shaped like limes.
Some cooks are uneasy at the thought of buying lime juice like that, but it’s fine in a pinch, especially if it’s going to go into a cooked dish.
When tested home canning recipes from reputable sources call for lime juice, they mean bottled lime juice, because they want to count on a guaranteed minimum acidic level for safety. The bottled lime juice should be regular lime juice, not key lime juice, as that is less acidic than regular lime juice.
For use in uncooked dishes such as ceviche or guacamole, the taste of the fresh lime juice, though, is really nice.
Cooking Tips
You get more juice out of a lime if it is at room temperature.
If they aren’t, zap a few seconds in your microwave. Then roll the limes around on your counter, pressing down with your palm, to loosen the juice up inside. Then cut in half, and juice.
Substitutes
Lemon juice
Equivalents
1 medium lime = 1 ½ tablespoons juice
6 medium limes = ½ cup lime juice