They are sour, sweet, and they work in countless foods and drinks. They are March’s Fruits of the Month: lemon and lime!
These two citrus fruits can hold their flavor during boiling, baking, and all types of kitchen preparations. But when is it best to use lemon over lime and vice versa? They have similar characteristics yet different flavor profiles, making them interchangeable in some applications but irreplaceable in others. Let us explore these two versatile fruits, pairing options, and our available products in more depth to help you choose which option is best for your desired applications.
Products Available
Sometimes using straight lemon or lime juice instead of juice blends requires careful specifications depending on the application and desired results. Our team is readily available to work with you to ensure your lemon or lime juice works exactly how you intend it to. Contact us to explore options that best suit your needs.
Lemon Products:
Lime products:
Pro tip
Use a clarified juice if you desire a caramelized tartness with a crystal, clear appearance. (Best for clear alcoholic beverages.) Use a clarified juice if you desire a caramelized tartness and clear appearance without any pulp or cloudiness.
Use an unclarified product if you desire a bright, tart, bracing flavor that is more fruity and acidic, though it can appear cloudy. (Best for baked goods, gummies, kombucha, sauces, etc.)
Season
While Northwest Naturals typically carries Lemon and Lime all year round, their peak season runs from January – April.
Flavor Profiles
Lemons give off a freshness that makes them popular to clean with as well as consume, but their rindy flavor and bitterness differentiate them from the fruitier and sweeter limes. That is why these two fruits are not 100% interchangeable. Lemonade is far more popular than limeade because people crave the sour bite lemons uniquely provide. As for limes, we see them more often in sweeter applications. Key lime pies and margaritas are sweet because limes can bring that tartness and acidity without the bite.
Pairing Suggestions
The possibilities are endless for reasons beyond their face value as main ingredients. Lemon and lime Juice Blends are an easy base to top off with other flavors, and there is also lemon’s ability to preserve.
Popular flavor pairings that we have seen:
Lemon:
-Green Tea
-Spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, Cardamom, Basil
-Fruits: Peach, Coconut Raspberry, Melon, Apricot, Berries, and many other fruit profiles
Lime:
-Fruits: Apple, Berries, Cherry, Papaya, Plum, Strawberry, and Tropical Fruits
-Herbs and Spices: Ginger, Coriander, Cumin, Curry Leaves, Mint, Parsley, Saffron, Thai Basil, Jalapeño
Applications Lemon & Lime can be used in
With the pairing toolkit above, we can create an array of applications, :
- Alcoholic beverages: Lemon tea hard ciders, Lemon drop limoncellos, Ginger-lime Moscow mules and jalapeño lime margaritas.
- We can cook caramelized lemon pork scaloppine and coriander lime chutney! Of course, these application ideas are not exhaustive.
Are you inspired to get started? At Northwest Naturals, we have multiple unique lemon and lime juice products to ensure that your applications are the exact color, scent, and flavor you desire.
Request a Juice Sample Today!
Now you know everything you need to create your next bestseller. Whether you are crafting a new cocktail or vinaigrette, Northwest Naturals will be there to support you every step of the process. Get started on your next lemon-lime-crowdpleaser, and request a free sample today!