Why can't I find juicy limes?

It's been very weird lately. No matter where I shop, I can't seem to find juicy limes. Not sure if it's the time of year or what, but every time I buy limes lately, they are practically juiceless. I needed 1 cup of fresh lime juice for a recipe yesterday and it took over 20 limes to get it. Good thing they were cheap.

I've shopped at produce centers, a couple of Mexican groceries and an Indian grocery with no luck. A couple of friends of mine have noticed the same thing.

Anyone having similar problems? Any idea why? Looking for good juice limes anywhere.

Jeff

Not an absolute, but I generally find that the softer the lime, the juicier.

I find that, as well. I generally know how to pick good limes, but have been unable to find anything remotely juicy of late.

pick up two limes generally the same size, the heavier one will be juicier. At times, we'll get shipments that are full of duds, but it just means you have to spend a few more seconds at the bin to pick what you buy more wisely.

jbambuti wrote:I find that, as well. I generally know how to pick good limes, but have been unable to find anything remotely juicy of late.

Not that I am an expert on limes but so many of the ones I have recently purchased have been as hard as hcokey pucks and almost as hard to juice.

Lemons have been juicy BUT a lot of them have been spoiling pretty quickly.

Everything you ever wanted to know about persian limes. While they're grown to produce year-round, the article notes that the season is May-September, which may mean we're at the very tail end of the very end of the season, just before it starts up again. There is a whole part of the article devoted to ripening/juice "The minimum permissible juice content is 42%."

Mhays wrote:Everything you ever wanted to know about persian limes. While they're grown to produce year-round, the article notes that the season is May-September, which may mean we're at the very tail end of the very end of the season, just before it starts up again. There is a whole part of the article devoted to ripening/juice "The minimum permissible juice content is 42%."

You are correct. The season is just starting up. Generally speaking, limes will make a big improvement over the next 30 days.

=R=

I am usually a lime by nature kind of person, but luckily, at least at home I am stuck on Meyer lemons for most of the day-to day household lime needs.

In looking for this information, I came upon a fruit I'm dying to try: the limequat. If anybody spots it, please post!

Does anyone else roll the Lime on the counter prior to juicing? Or, giving the lime 8 to 10 seconds in the microwave?

Both seem to help bring out more juice for me...

Thanks for the replies. It makes sense that the new season is just beginning. Maybe this is an annual occurrence and I am just using more limes at this time of year than I've done in previous years. I've put the limes in the microwave, rolled them and sworn at them to little effect. Thanks for the article link.

Jeff

mhill95149 wrote:Does anyone else roll the Lime on the counter prior to juicing? Or, giving the lime 8 to 10 seconds in the microwave?

Both seem to help bring out more juice for me...

Yes, I think rolling definitely helps. I've heard about the nuking before but I've never tried it.

I also have one of these, which works very well.

=R=

I've experienced the same thing - soft limes that are completely juiceless. I had one where I couldn't even get a drop of liquid out of it! Glad to hear it's not me, and hopefully just a seasonal thing that will pass.

In the meantime I've had to use bottled lime juice. Not the same at all but it gets the job done.

jbambuti, do you use a lime juicer tool or just your hands? I find I get much more juice with my lime juicer tool.

A year or two ago, I was noticing the same thing (dry, nearly juice-less lemons and limes). One thing I started doing is when the limes (and lemons) are juiciest and in "season", (and cheaper) I buy a ton and juice them and the freeze it. I find it still tastes better than that bottled "REALLemon(TM)" junk and then I don't have to worry about not having "fresh" juice when I need it.

Limes are looking better these days. Thanks for the info about waiting until the new season starts. Also bought a citrus juicer and that has made a great difference.

tgoddess wrote:A year or two ago, I was noticing the same thing (dry, nearly juice-less lemons and limes). One thing I started doing is when the limes (and lemons) are juiciest and in "season", (and cheaper) I buy a ton and juice them and the freeze it. I find it still tastes better than that bottled "REALLemon(TM)" junk and then I don't have to worry about not having "fresh" juice when I need it.

Freezing lime juice is a great idea. A tip I learned from making baby food, freeze it in ice cube trays for convenience.
Cheers, Jen

Mhays wrote:In looking for this information, I came upon a fruit I'm dying to try: the limequat. If anybody spots it, please post!

Well, you can always grow your own:

http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/variety ... tml#exotic

I ordered a Kaffir lime a couple of years ago from this nursery and was very pleased with the quality. It's thrived as an indoor/outdoor plant in a 12" pot. It's a scale magnet, though.

I was watching a Cooks Illustrated video on key lime dessert bars, and it caught my attention when they said that three Persian limes yield the same amount of juice as twenty key limes.

A sudden and unprecedented shortage of limes has sent nationwide wholesale prices soaring from around $25 for a 40-pound carton in early February to more than $100 today, panicking lovers of Mexican food and drinks — and the restaurant and bar owners who cater to them. The culprits are weather, disease and even Mexican criminals.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/opini ... .html?_r=0

Dave148 wrote:

A sudden and unprecedented shortage of limes has sent nationwide wholesale prices soaring from around $25 for a 40-pound carton in early February to more than $100 today, panicking lovers of Mexican food and drinks — and the restaurant and bar owners who cater to them. The culprits are weather, disease and even Mexican criminals.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/opini ... .html?_r=0

The NYT article also says that because of the high prices, growers are picking earlier, which results in lower juice yields.

Hi,

It does explain lemon slices served with a Hmong soup noodle (pho) on Sunday.

Regards,

Lemon in the salad at Nhu Lan yesterday as well.

As I posted in some other thread, lemons served with tacos at La Chaperrita last week.

Quite a number of news sources are reporting that the supply of Mexican limes has been hijacked by Mexican drug cartels. This is in addition to the Michoacan avocado grab. Yikes! --Joy

Joy wrote:Quite a number of news sources are reporting that the supply of Mexican limes has been hijacked by Mexican drug cartels. This is in addition to the Michoacan avocado grab. Yikes! --Joy

I thought this was a joke until I googled…they've gone too far

AlekH wrote:

Joy wrote:Quite a number of news sources are reporting that the supply of Mexican limes has been hijacked by Mexican drug cartels. This is in addition to the Michoacan avocado grab. Yikes! --Joy

I thought this was a joke until I googled…they've gone too far

And it also affects cheese, too, according to a recent program I attended on Mexican cheeses. There are cheeses being aged in caves, which are dangerous to access due to these drug wars. They are not even sure these cheeses are still there.

Regards,

Stephen Colbert weighs in

For those who can get to Costco, the limes by-the-bag tend to be much less than by-the-piece in the regular grocery. Sometimes, I make a special trip to Costco just for the limes and the Parmagiana.

Hi,

I didn't bagged limes at Costco in Mettawa today. I did see Volcano lime juice next to the Volcano lemon juice on the shelves. I buy the lemon juice exclusively for canning tomatoes.

Regards,