LIME JUICE
SMALL-SCALE PRODUCTION
Limes are often grown in abundance in tropical and sub tropical countries. Their seasonal
availability gives rise to gluts in the market, which means that growers do not get the full reward
for their labours. Fresh limes are perishable items. It is often difficult to get them to the fruit
market in a state where they still fetch a good price. Making the limes into lime juice can alleviate
these problems. The technology required is simple and due to the very acidic juice of limes (pH
2.0), spoilage or food hygiene problems are minimal. Lime juice is popular as it is an important
ingredient in many a cuisine, or can be made into a drink. The skin can be incorporated into lime
pickle to reduce wastage.
Recipe
Raw lime juice
Preservative (Sulphur dioxide 350ppm) derived from sodium metabisulphite
Preservatives are controlled by legal limits, these limits vary from country to country, you should
check the limits at your Bureau of Standards.
Method
Wash whole fruits and discard any bad fruit.
Cut the fruits in half and squeeze out the juice by hand or with a squeezer (this can be two grooved
wooden rollers). Separate the seeds from the juice. The yield of juice from whole limes is 40%.
Pasteurise the juice at 90°C for one minute in a stainless steel saucepan, or earthenware pot.
Pasteurisation of the lime juice stops separation and browning during storage.
Hot fill the juice into clean, sterilised bottles and lie the bottles on their side to cool. One 190ml
bottle holds the juice from approximately 16 lime fruits.
Process summary
Wash limes
Squeeze/extract the juice
Add sodium metabisulphate
Pasteurise
Bottle
Cap
Cool
Label
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