Key lime
Citrus x aurantiifolia · Citrus
Top 10 pairings
The Key lime — also called the Mexican or West Indian lime — is the small, round, thin-skinned, intensely seedy lime that flavours Key lime pie. It is more acidic, more aromatic and far more floral than the larger, blander Persian lime that dominates supermarkets, and unlike that hybrid it ripens from green to a distinctive pale yellow-green rather than staying green.
Picking a good onedrag
Deep green, heavy, oil-slickYellow, light, papery
Shop greenEveryday bestThe all-rounder: wedges, juice, curries, marinades.
SkinGreen, a yellow blush at one end
WeightHeavy, but hard right through
Stem scarScar dry, a shade sunken
Scratched peelFragrant when rubbed, softer edge
These cues are Lime's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.
What you get from one
84%
Edible part
67 g · peel and seeds off
80 g
Weight each
each one
55%
Juice
550 ml a kilo
Keeping ittap a temperature
Below about 8 °C the peel pits and tans. A fridge still buys weeks; 10 °C keeps it whole.
90–95%
Humidity
Gentle, not sealed
Airflow