Sweet, sour, bitter and tart – words that describe a lemon or a lime? You’ll find the answer to that and so much more in this article. From the benefits, tastes, shape and uses, there are many similarities and differences between lime and lemon.
What is a Lime?
Lime is a citrus fruit that is small, green, and can be found at your local grocery store. The most common are Persian limes, with most of the world’s limes grown in Mexico.
Throughout the world, limes are commonly used in different cuisines – using bottled lime juice or fresh limes can really make a noticeable difference in the flavor of your dishes.
Available year-round, limes are typically sold when they are a dark green color and turn a yellowish color as they ripen.
What is Lemon?
Lemon is a citrus fruit that is a bright yellow color. It is harvested for much of the year – however, this can be dependent on where the lemon tree is growing and in what conditions.
Lemons can be enjoyed juiced, candied, preserved or dried out.
Are Limes Unripe Lemons (Are Lemons and Limes the Same)?
Because limes are smaller, green, with a similar shape to that of lemons, some people think, that they are unripened lemons. However, this isn’t the case.
They are different fruits. Limes are small, round, and green, while lemons are usually larger, oval-shaped, and bright yellow.
Nutritionally, they’re almost identical and share many of the same potential health benefits. Both fruits are acidic and sour, but lemons tend to be sweeter, while limes have a more bitter flavor.
Do Limes Turn into Lemons?
Because they are different fruits, a lime will never turn into a lemon.
What are the Similarities Between Lime and Lemon?
Flavor: When it comes to flavor, both lemons and limes have similar citrus flavors – they’re both tart. It’s especially fun to eat them or watch others eat them and get a puckered facial expression.
Usage: While lemons can be more on the sweet side and limes are more bitter, they both are used in many cuisines to help boost flavors.
Health Benefits: Both lemons and limes have been used in traditional medicine and each contain antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals and provide many health benefits. They are both high in Vitamin C and have the potential to protect cells from damage.
Can I Substitute Lime for Lemon?
Limes can be a good substitute for lemons, however, one thing to keep in mind is that limes are more commonly used in Latin or Southeast Asian dishes and lemons are more commonly used in Mediterranean dishes.
It wouldn’t make sense to add a squeeze of lime to a salad – which puts the emphasis on making sure you substitute lime in for lemon on the right recipes.
Differences Between Limes and Lemons
1. Nutrition
When it comes to nutrition, lemons can be a bit on the more nutritious side compared to limes. Lemons contain 29 calories, 9 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber and 0 grams of fat. Limes contain 30 calories, 11 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber and 0 grams of fat.
2. Health Benefits
Limes take the win here. While lemons have more and are more citric, they also are an excellent source of potassium and magnesium. However, limes contain higher amounts of phosphorus, vitamins A and C, calcium, and folate.
3. Size and Shape
The most noticeable difference between lemons and limes is their size and shape. Lemons are about 2-4 inches, oval-shaped and are bright yellow. Whereas limes are smaller, coming in at about 1-2 inches, rounder and typically bright green.
4. Flavors
While these two fruits are similar, lemons tend to be sweeter and limes more bitter. Due to limes being more bitter, they are often described as being sourer than lemons.
5. Price
The price of one lemon is about 56 cents and the cost of a lime is about 38 cents – making the cost of a lemon about twice that of a lime.
6. Calories
A lemon has about 29 calories whereas a lime has about 30 calories.
7. The Usage
Limes are often used for more savory dishes, whereas lemons are used in both savory and sweet dishes.
Lime Water vs Lemon Water
Lime water and lemon water are very different. They both contain healthy benefits, but they both differ in their tastes. Lemons taste sweeter, whereas limes are more bitter. When looking at the biggest difference – it’s noted that lemon water contains more vitamin c, has higher calcium and vitamin than lime water does. They are effective in eliminating toxins from your body.
Recipes Using Lemon
Recipes Using Lime
Difference Between Lime and Lemons (+ Easy Lemon Truffles Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 15- oz box lemon cake mix
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 lemon 1 tbsp juice + 1 tsp zest
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp butter solid, for your hands
- 1/2 cup yellow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Place sprinkles on a plate and set aside.
- Spread out the lemon cake mix powder on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes to heat treat.
- In a large bowl, mix the baked cake mix, sugar, melted butter, lemon juice, and zest until it starts to form a dough.
- Butter your hands with the solid cube of butter.
- Make the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls.
- Roll each truffle thoroughly in the sprinkles to coat and set onto a separate plate or container.
- Chill for an hour to set. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe makes 15-20 truffles depending on how big you make them. You may want to double the recipe for a party.
S. ADEREMI DADA says
Excellent clarification and benefit of use.