You’ll be glad to know that I found the answer to the riddle of how much lime juice there is.
Even after years of cooking, often under less than ideal circumstances, I still dislike it when recipes call for unreliable measures.
Making anything for the first time is stressful enough; imagine the tension if the recipe calls for quantities like “a handful of corn” or “a cup of powdered sugar”; in my opinion, this kind of stuff may make you feel sick to your stomach.
How Much Juice In One Lime?
Over the years, I learned to cook by the feel, but having to improvise with liquids is very difficult for me. It gets even worse when your recipe contains fruit juices.
So much depends on the freshness and size of the fruit, so how can we be sure how much juice is in one lime? This question came up to my mind very often, but I never indeed did something to answer it.
Yesterday I wanted something refreshing for my salad dressing, so I reached for limes.
A perfect opportunity to solve the mystery once and for all!
Let’s standardize the size of a lime
How much juice you will get from fruits depends a lot on the freshness, size, and method of juicing.
So it’s logical to start from the size – what size is the average lime?
Luckily, limes vary less in their size than lemons, so things are going in our favor for now.
I discovered that most of the limes in our shelves come from Mexico, so medium-sized limes are pretty consistent in most places.
I measured my six limes, and the average size is 2 inches (or approximately 5 centimeters). I’ve also put them on a scale, and the average weight was 2.5 oz (approx 70 grams).
Now that we’ve standardized our limes, we can talk about freshness!
The amount of juice also depends on how fresh the lime is! Don’t pick soft limes because they have less liquid – it is a common mistake that softer fruit will bring you more nectar!
Most juice you will get from firm fruit, lime is supposed to have tight bark and be smooth to the hand. Try to pick them carefully because they can be excellent for your health!
Lime – small but strong vitamin bomb
From protecting your health and beauty to cleaning your house, limes are the most versatile fruit you can have in your house.
Health benefits
Limes can boost your immunity because they are rich in vitamins, especially vitamin C. They can also reduce heart disease risk factors, prevent kidney stones and make your skin glow!
High in vitamin C and antioxidants, lime can boost collagen and have a positive impact on your skin – helping your skin stays firm and tight.
Foods high in vitamin C, such as limes, can lower your blood pressure, increase iron absorption, which is essential to make red blood cells and transport oxygen around your body.
Related: Does Lime Juice Go Bad?
Lime on a plate!
This round bright green fruit and its zest are the most wanted guests of icecreams, cakes, and desserts all over the globe! Their sour taste found a place in almost every cuisine in the world – nothing marinates turkey like lime!
Lime juice is an ingredient that is gladly used in savory meals; it can be used in various ragouts, risottos, and to marinate meat. Acid from citruses makes the meat of poultry tender and enhances the taste.
Additional use
In addition to neutralizing odors, lime juice helps to remove stains from watercourses. It is also suitable for disinfection and won’t damage your skin.
So if you want a non-toxic cleaning agent, all you need to do is to mix it with white vinegar and put it in a spray bottle!
So many benefits just from one citrus juice! Now that you are aware of the advantages of limes, let’s learn how to extract the most of them!
The best squeeze – How to get all the juice from a lime
I guess you all know how to squeeze a lime, but this advice will help you get the most juice from lime.
Hand Juicer
I don’t like to favourize things, but if you ask my boys, this method wins! It’s simple to use, easy to clean, and fast. Cut limes in half and squeeze it- simple as that!
Barehanded
Roll limes and cut them in halves. You can use a fork to squeeze the juice or stab a spoon in the center and make twist motions and then squeeze the rest of the liquid. Or you can do it without tools – real barehanded!
Citrus press
If you have a press like that laying around the kitchen – use it! Cut limes in half crosswise and do as instructed. If you have manual and electric, I advise electric – less effort and more juice! If you have a manual only, you’ll have to work a little harder!
So, here are my results:
I took medium lime and extracted juice with a hand juicer manually. Lime was firm but not quite fresh. A little bit soft on touch.
From that one lime, I got two tablespoons of lime juice or 1 oz!
Now that our little mystery is solved, you can follow any recipe with near-surgical precision. And if you don’t have fresh limes, you can replace them with bottled lime juice.
Although bottled juice is a convenient replacement, try to use fresh ingredients as much as you can.
Using fresh fruit, you are sure you’ll get vitamins and antioxidants that are vital for your health! Bottled juice doesn’t have that rich, and you can’t make zest from it!
Speaking on zest, I put a little extra effort this time, and I solved one more mystery:
One lime has 1/4 oz of lime zest.
Now you can cook, bake and make drinks with precision and enjoy every second of it!
Learn more: How Juicy Is The Lemon?
Conclusion
I can bet you will look at that bright green vitamin bomb with fresh eyes now that you know all of its advantages!
Imagine how that little fruit can enrich your savory dishes, giving your meals a slightly exotic taste and beautiful aromas from its zest!
Be sure to use fresh limes whenever you get a chance, even a glass of lemonade can make a difference in your health, and it tastes great!
With summer on our doorstep, I can’t wait to prepare refreshing desserts with this exceptional fruit!
Please feel free to share recipes or ask for additional help!