Limes
Limes are citrus fruits that have a greenish yellow color and are between 3 and 6 cm in diameter. The pulp of limes is sour (more so than the lemon) and can be seen a lot with its counterpart, the lemon. A lot of people use limes to accent their food recipes; others use it as an ingredient for drinks. The lime is smaller than the lemon, but is still a really good source for vitamin C. The pH level of limes is between 6 and 7, making them very healthy picks. You can find limes readily available all year round. The time of its cultivation isn’t accurate, but it is believed to have likely been around in 100 CE. Evidence from Indian medical work gives shows this – the document makes references to both lemons and limes, which were called Jambira. Later, the Arabs came up with two different names for each fruit, lemons and limes.
The people that use limes for their cooking needs add its juice for a floral aroma and zesty flavor. Thai, Mexican and Southwest American dishes usually involve the addition of limes. The leaves of the lime are also used for Asian dishes. Some like to dry out the limes, such as the Persians and Iraqis. In Asia, the leaves of the lime are used as an herb – in Vietnam, they boil the lime leaves in their chicken dishes, along with salt and black pepper. Limes even have a healing factor – in the 19th century, British sailors used lime to prevent scurvy. The sailors were given limes daily to help keep up their health.
Perfumes and extracts are also known to contain some elements of limes – most of which are used for aromatherapy and cleaning products. Sometimes, Asian martial artists use limes to help enhance vision – they do this by squeezing a couple of drops of the lime juice into the corner of the eyes; it stings for a while, but eventually goes away. This is something that should not be practiced on a regular basis.
The top producers of limes are India, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, China, United States, Turkey, Iran and Italy – in that order. The top producer, India, produces over 2 million limes and the lowest producer, Italy, produces over half a million limes annually. When picking out limes make sure that they have any lesions or bruises on them.
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