Lime Juice Substitutes

What do you do if you run out of lime while preparing some dish? Do you have to run to the market to get a bottle of lemon juice essence? Well, not really. All you have to do is read this article and find out what can be used in place of lime juice in your recipes.

Lime juice is mainly known for its refreshing taste. However, it is also used for culinary purposes, basically in desserts, jams, jellies, and candies. Lime or Citrus aurantifolia is a citrus fruit. It is usually a round fruit of green to yellow color and smaller than lemon. When it comes to replacing its juice, the juice of other citrus fruits can be used for this purpose.

Benefits of Lime Juice

Citrus fruits including lime and lemons are good sources of vitamin C. The sour lime juice can, therefore, provide lots of vitamin C, which can cure and prevent diseases like scurvy and is also excellent for skin care.

It contains citric acid, which helps in exfoliating the skin and promoting skin regeneration. Along with vitamin C, it also contains antioxidants like flavonoids that protect the body cells from the highly reactive free radicals.

It can help in relieving the symptoms of gout due to its antioxidant and detoxifying properties. It can neutralize the free radicals and help in removing uric acid crystals deposited around the joints to provide relief in gout.

Apart from these, it can promote weight loss, improve digestion, heal peptic ulcers and ulcers of the mouth, alleviate gum problems like bleeding gums, treat infections of the urinary system, and protect the eye from aging and macular degeneration. About 1 cup or 246 gm of lime juice contains 62 calories.

When You Run Out of Lime Juice

Lime juice can be substituted with lemon juice, which closely resembles it in taste and flavor. Key lime juice, extracted from key lime, is a citrus fruit having a strong aroma that can replace lime juice in recipes.

Orange is another citrus fruit and its juice works well to add a tangy flavor to any dish, a taste similar to the juice of lime. However, orange juice is less sour or acidic than lime juice. It is usually sweeter than both lemon and lime juice, which should be taken into consideration while substituting one for the other.

Apart from the citrus fruit juices, sometimes white wine can also be used as a substitute in some recipes. However, white wine cannot substitute the flavor of lime juice. It is less acidic than lime juice but still can be used in certain recipes in place of lime. You can substitute 1 teaspoon of lime juice with an equal amount of white wine.

Vinegar is another ingredient which you add to your food. It is basically acetic acid, which is obtained from the fermentation of ethanol.

Like lime juice, vinegar is also very acidic and hence can be used as a substitute in those recipes, where lime juice is primarily used for its acidic content. While substituting, take 1 teaspoon of vinegar for 1 teaspoon of lime juice. You can use both white and apple cider vinegar for this replacement.

So, lemon juice, orange juice, white wine, key lime juice, and vinegar are some of the products that can be used in recipes when kitchen catastrophes, such as a shortage of lime juice occur in your culinary haven. All these can work well for the recipes that require the use of lime juice for an acidic content and flavor. One important point to be kept in mind while using lemon or lime juice is that their seeds are poisonous if ingested in large quantities. So, be sure to discard the seeds from the juice before drinking or prior to using them in recipes.

Disclaimer: This Tastessence article is for informative purposes only and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.

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