Difference between: limes and key limes

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Key lime pies – can you make them with “regular” limes? What’s the difference between limes and key limes anyway? Let’s find out.

a lime cut open on a cutting board, one half cut in half

Definitions

  • Lime: the small, greenish-yellow acid fruit of a citrus tree; Citrus aurantifolia, allied to the lemon
  • Key lime: a yellow lime with a bitter rather than sour taste

A Little History

Regular limes are actually Persian limes. Although they’re super common in the US, key limes are actually more widespread throughout the rest of the world.

Key limes were grown commercially in the Florida Keys until a hurricane destroyed most of the crop during the 1920s. Farmers replaced them with the Persian limes. Most key limes you see in our grocery stores today are from Mexico.

Color, Size & Taste

Key limes are more yellowish in color, are a bit smaller, contain more seeds, have a more leathery rind, and pack more of an aromatic scent than Persian limes.

When it comes to taste, key limes have a bolder, more acidic flavor, although opinions seem to differ on if it’s more tart or more bitter.

Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?

Key limes require much more work than Persian limes to get the juice out. When Cooks Illustrated experimented with exchanging key limes and Persian limes in recipes they found that to get a half cup of lime juice they had to squeeze three Persian limes. With the Key limes, it took almost 20.

Persian Limes in Key Lime Pies

Fine Cooking, The Pioneer Woman, and Better Homes and Gardens all agree that it’s fine to use juice from Persian limes in a key lime pie. However, you might want to use fresh lime juice over bottled.

View the difference between lemons and Meyer lemons >>

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