Lime Juice Powder

Lime Juice Powder, Citrus x latifolia, is also called organic lime powder, organic lime juice powder, or powdered lime juice.
 

What is Lime Juice Powder

A teaspoon of this highly concentrated lime juice powder is about equivalent to the flavor of the juice from half of a lime. A shelf-stable alternative to fresh lime with a long shelf life, it is perfect for adding a burst of flavor in glazes, baking mixes, fillings, icings, marinades, sauces, seasoning blends, and soups while also adding bright flavor to cakes, cookies, and scones.

This Organic Lime Juice Powder is made using a top grade organic certified lime juice, selected for maximum flavor, that is converted to a consistent powdered product that yields a fresh lime juice taste with no drop off of flavor. To create this powder organic lime juice and lime oil are sprayed onto organic tapioca maltodextrin and then dried, so the mild flavored maltodextrin can take on the flavor of the lime juice. Made from limes grown in the United States.

We were excited when we found this supplier of Organic Lime Juice Powder as most lime juice powders on the market are made with lime juice solids and corn syrup solids which have 20% more sugar than tapioca maltodextrin and we feel their flavor isn't near as potent.
 

History of Limes

The lime is an interesting fruit, with a history of over 4,000 years. The exact origin of limes is not known with some food historians believe that they are native to India and others to China. Plant geneticists believe that limes are a chance seedling, with citron, Citrus medica and papeda, either Citrus cavaleriei or Citrus latipes possibly being its parents. These plant geneticists believe wild limes are most likely native to Indonesian or the nearby mainland of Asia.

It is believed that around 1000 BC that Arabian traders transported limes and lemons from India to many places including the eastern Mediterranean and parts of Africa.

The first written record of limes in Europe come from a book called Travels by Sir Thomas Herbert during the 17th century. He wrote about seeing limes growing in Mozambique, which is a country in Africa. During the 19th century, British sailors had a set allowance for citrus daily, in the hopes of preventing scurvy. Originally this allowance was made up of lemons, but limes soon found their way into the rotation. In fact, limes became so commonly the choice of citrus for British sailors that they were simply referred to as "Limey" while back on shore.

It is thought that limes came to the United States as seeds with Christopher Columbus. Written records from colonies in what is now Florida from 1560 establish that there were lime trees growing in that region at the time. Persian limes likely originated in Southeast Asia, this variety of lime was dubbed the “Tahiti” lime in the mid-1800s when it was imported to the United States from Tahiti and began to be grown in Florida and California. This was when the commercial lime industry really started taking off in the United States.

The growth of the lime industry was steady and with the growth of Latin American immigration into the US (from less than one million in 1960 to nearly 19 million in 2010) the demand for limes continued to rise and lime production in the US peaked in the 1980s. But the US consumers appetite for limes did not wane and today Americans consume 10 times the amount they did in the 1980. In the 1990s the Florida Lime industry was hit by hurricanes which destroyed large amounts of lime trees which drastically curtailed the amount of domestic limes in the market. Mexico stepped in and started exporting Mexican grown Key limes into the US.

In the early 2000s Florida was hit with a death knell to the lime industry with a disease called citrus canker that attacked lime trees and left them for dead. Local municipalities then restricted the additional planting of any new lime trees as they were worried that this disease would spread to the state's more powerful orange and grapefruit industry. Today most of limes consumed in the US are imported from Mexico.
 

How is Lime Juice Powder Made

Limes are most often grown by grafting to other citrus trees because in a given growing region only a few citrus varieties have roots that successfully resist typical diseases, root rot and pests. Lime trees love sunshine, do not do well in colder climates, and prefer well drained soil. If these trees are not pruned, they will often become very shrub-like and grow more wide than tall. The trees have erratic branches and small white flowers that grow in clusters, which then become limes over time. Grafted lime trees begin to blossom and fruit in 2 to 3 years and reach full production in 6 to 8 years. Lime trees typically only grow to about 13 feet tall but can reach a height of 25 feet and produce between 30 and 50 lbs of fruit per year. Trees generally live for about 50 years but have been known to live for more than 100 years and can bear fruit for the life of the tree.

Organic Lime Juice Powder is made by spraying organic lime juice as well as organic lime oil onto organic tapioca maltodextrin. This mild flavored maltodextrin absorbs the flavor of the lime and takes it on, so when the liquid dries off, the maltodextrin is left behind and tastes just as strongly as the lime juice would be.

Our Organic Lime Juice Powder is made from limes grown in California.
 

What Does Lime Juice Taste Like

Tastes of lime, minus that bitter or sour taste one comes to expect from lime juice.
 

What is Lime Powder Used For

Lime Powder is used in baking mixes, coatings, fillings, glazes, health foods, powdered beverage bases, and seasoning blends. Organic Lime Juice Powder tastes wonderful on chicken, fish, or pork. You will love this as a mix in for drinks like smoothies or chocolate milkshakes. The citrus flavor complements the chocolate flavor quite nicely.

It's great in salad dressings, meat marinades, or even just as a small pinch sprinkled over a salad. Lime tastes very good with almonds, so if you like making roasted almonds you could experiment with using this powder. This might taste even better when combined with a chile powder, for a sweet heat kind of mixture.

Lime pickles are crucial to South Indian cuisine, which is heavily influenced by the flavor of lime in general. Use this as an inspiration in your next curry dish, or even a traditional South Indian dish like the dosa. It is also a popular ingredient in Mexican, Thai, and Vietnamese dishes.
 

Can You Substitute Lime Powder for Lime Juice

To substitute Lime Juice Powder for 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, stir 1 teaspoon of Lime Juice Powder into 2 tablespoons of water.

A teaspoon of lime juice powder is about equivalent to the flavor of the juice from half of a lime.



 

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