substituting lime juice for lemon juice

[kgord]

A couple of days ago I was going to make Jamie Oliver's chicken in milk. This is because I like it, and I scored some cheap cinnamon sticks. However, I live a distance from the grocery store and the small stores out here charge a fortune for basic supplies...I noticed I only had lime juice when the recipe called for lemon juice...how would that change the taste...if I had used the lime?? Can you substitute lemon and lime? I ended up not making it...as my milk supply was fairly low and I did not want to pay twice the price for new milk at the convenience store.

 

[Pat]

I have often wondered the same thing and as yet not done the switch. I think the taste would be changed as lemons and limes do not taste very much a like. I am a big fan of lemons and only due limes in a few drinks when the lime is called for. I think we will have to test it and find out how much difference in taste when using a lime when called for a lemon.

 

[Morning Glory]

Usually you can substitute but it will, of course, alter the flavour somewhat. Limes are rather more fragrant. The Jamie recipe is very unusual, in that you normally wouldn't put lemon juice into milk because it will split the milk and form curds. In fact, this is how you make simple cheese. He mentions this in the recipe and the curds are served along with the chicken. Lime will have exactly the same effect in making curds.

 

[Pat]

Putting lemon juice into make makes curd that can be made into cheese, can you do the same and make buttermilk?

 

[phoenix2015]

I'm currently living abroad in Taiwan. I often have trouble finding lemons. I can get limes easily, but lemons are harder to find without going to a specialty import store and paying more. So I, more often than not, use lime juice in place of lemon juice. I don't really consider the taste to be that much different, and the health benefits are the same.

 

[L_B]

I often substitute lime for lemon just because I prefer the lime taste and I always have them on hand. I don't find that it really changes the flavour all that much. It is a bit different but if you like the lime flavour then you should like it.

 

[Corzhens]

We have lime plants for so many years and whenever we would harvest, expect our dinner to be steak because it is the main flavoring of our steak recipe. To be honest, I do not know the difference of the lime from the lemon because I feel that they are practically the same in flavor although the lime has a stronger sour taste. There are lemons here in the market and I grew up with that. But I remember my mother wanting lime better than lemon because of the stronger flavor and yes, there is an aroma it exudes.

 

[aquaticneko]

I do this for a lot of recipes that call for lemons. I cannot get lemons here since most of the time it has to be imported (not entirely sure why, we grow it here too!) When you do get it at a farmers market it can be a bit pricey. I generally use a bit less lime than what it calls for since, limes are bit more tart than lemons. To me nothing beats having an ice cold limeade on a hot sunny day. Yep, not even a LEMONADE

 

[Duck59]

When I lived in Eritrea, I was partial to the odd gin and tonic with a slice of lime. My argument was that the lime kept scurvy at bay while the tonic water contained quinine, a guard against malaria. Of course, one had to drink the gin to make the whole thing palatable.

 

[Diane Lane]

I like lemons, but have found over the years (especially when drinking) that I would substitute limes and lime juice in the place of lemons. That could be because Mexican restaurants use limes more, and I used to eat a lot of Mexican food. I've noticed that lime juice is often more expensive than lemon juice, so I haven't done the same when baking or cooking, but I tend to use more limes than lemons for condiments.

@morning glory Would it be possible to use something else such as orange or pineapple juice to separate the curds from whey? The last time I made simple ricotta, I added a tiny bit of pineapple juice just for flavoring, but still used lemon juice to separate them. If they would serve the same purpose, I'd like to try using orange juice (fresh squeezed) or pineapple juice, especially if I'll be using it in a dessert.