LIME2 LIME JUICE SMALL-SCALE PRODUCTION 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 or Benzoic acid 800ppm) 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 and fruit, which is bad. 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 90C 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.
Process summary[edit | edit source]
Wash Limes Squeeze/extract the juice Add sodium benzoate at the Point, if it is being used Pasteurise Add metabisulphite at this stage, if it is being used Bottle Cap Cool Label
