Limes are often grown in abundance in tropical and sub tropical countries. Their seasonal availability gives rise to gluts in the market, which means that growers do not get the full reward for their labours. Fresh limes are perishable items. It is often difficult to get them to the fruit market in a state where they still fetch a good price. Making the limes into lime juice can alleviate these problems. The technology required is simple and due to the very acidic juice of limes (pH 2.0), spoilage or food hygiene problems are minimal. Lime juice is popular as it is an important ingredient in many a cuisine, or can be made into a drink. The skin can be incorporated into lime pickle to reduce wastage.
Recipe[edit | edit source]
- Raw lime juice
- Preservative (Sulphur dioxide 350ppm) derived from sodium metabisulphite
Preservatives are controlled by legal limits, these limits vary from country to country, you should check the limits at your Bureau of Standards.
Method[edit | edit source]
- Wash whole fruits and discard any bad fruit.
- Cut the fruits in half and squeeze out the juice by hand or with a squeezer (this can be two grooved wooden rollers). Separate the seeds from the juice. The yield of juice from whole limes is 40%.
- Pasteurise the juice at 90°C for one minute in a stainless steel saucepan, or earthenware pot. Pasteurisation of the lime juice stops separation and browning during storage.
- Hot fill the juice into clean, sterilised bottles and lie the bottles on their side to cool.
- One 190ml bottle holds the juice from approximately 16 lime fruits.
References and further reading[edit | edit source]
- Lime Cordial, (Practical Action Technical Brief)
- Lime Marmalade, Practical Action Technical Brief
- Lime Oil & Juice, Practical Action Technical Brief
- Pickled dry salted lime, Practical Action Technical Brief
- Passion Fruit Juice, Practical Action Technical Brief
- Mixed Fruit Juice Manufacture, Practical Action Technical Brief
