Citrus is really interesting, oranges are also a hybrid between a mandarin and a pomelo, grapefruits are a hybrid of those hybrid oranges and a certain kind of pomelo that developed in the Caribbean and my favorite bitter Seville oranges are the same kind of hybrid but with a different kind of pomelo, and lemons, pomelo, mandarins, key limes and all citrus fruits that aren’t taxonomic hybrids are actually hybrids of the citron and different unknown fruits.

I bought key limes to make a pie this past summer and found that I like them better than “regular” limes, they’re very bitter but in a much more pleasant way than lemons or “regular limes” and even though they’re half the size you get double the amount of juice. Same thing with quinces which are one of the ancestors of the apple, I get pies that are less goopy and sickeningly sweet if I use quinces and honey rather than regular apples.

I'm curious why you call Key limes "real limes" when they're a cultivar? There are very few things we eat, if any, that's the og version

The Key lime cultivar is a citrus hybrid, Citrus micrantha × Citrus medica (a papeda-citron cross).

Apples are all hybrids too and it is fascinating.

Yes all citrus fruits aside from the citron are hybrids but sweet oranges, bitter oranges, Persian limes, grapefruits are very recent creations from two domesticated species, the Key lime was just what limes were for a very long time. It’s arbitrary but if you find a recipe from the Romans or medieval Baghdad or wherever that calls for limes, they mean Key limes.

Key limes are better than limes and it's not even close.

I 100% agree, I bought them to make pies not too long ago and discovered how much better they are, it’s crazy that they’re half the size but when you juice them you get double the liquid.

Very interesting, TIL! Thank you.

Np, the original citrus is the citron and that’s what became everything else. Citron is still grown a lot because it’s a large part of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot but it’s not nice to eat, I think if it were fermented out in salt like how I do with lemons or put in a fruitcake it would be good though.

Mmm now I want some key lime pie.

They are just different. There are certain things that need key lines, and certain things that need Persian limes.

Try making a proper mai tai with key lime, it is not great.

Try making a key lime pie with Persian lime.. just not the same.

Source: plenty of citrus trees on my property, go through a couple pounds of limes a week.

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That is not my experience - getting juice from key limes is an exercise in patience.

Naw - they're different. Limes have a different flavour better suited to some things.

I always thought "key lime pie" was a recipe for lime pie popularised in the Florida keys.

Any Aussies around who can clarify which type we usually have? I'm looking and think the one called key lime looks more like what we get in the supermarket but can't work out if I'm right...

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These are called "lemons" in Mexico, and what everybody calls lemons are limes here, in case someone gets confused while visiting or following recipes.

I thought there were 4 natural citrus: mandarin, citron, pomelo, and papeda.

Whoops wrong comment.

I thought there were 4 natural citrus: mandarin, citron, pomelo, and papeda

Wikipedia says to include Kaffir Lime and Kumquat

Can't find anything to support that the Citron is the daddy

Aye, this was my [potentially incorrect] understanding, as well.

Also, apple seeds do not produce their parent plant. To make a specific variety of apple, you have to clone a tree from a cutting

And key limes are super bitter; definitely not a substitute in recipes that require actual limes.

> I like them better than “regular” limes, they’re very bitter but in a much more pleasant way than lemons or “regular limes”

I am surprised to read this take, since I just commented how key limes are awful as a replacement lime. I used them as a substitute in drink mixes, though, not food.

Key Limes were a common cash crop for early Florida Keys settlers to supplement the Pineapple and Mango(when there was enough soil) crops. They're not native to the Keys though, the name was just marketing.

Not an Aussie but they talk about this in one of the He who fight with monsters books. In Australia key limes are called west Indian limes.

This applies to avocado seeds as well.

I'm Jewish and I use one on sukkos. They smell amazing, better than any other citrus fruit, and the entire tree (stalks and leaves) carries the same perfume. They aren't much to eat though. There are various slightly different types that are traditionally believed never to have been grafted and most are almost entirely pith. They make nice jam but I've always been too scared to make my own - they are so fragile that apparently the growers use obscene amounts of pesticides on them.

Meyer lemons are a lemon orange hybrid as well !

Lymons? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHMh8HUPLx8

I've typically heard Mexican people call yellow lemons "limon" and limes "limon verde", or green lemon. I'm sure there's probably variation though. Tbh green lemon is just as good a thing to call it

Edited for improper Spanish emphasis oops

That’s why Johnny Appleseed was so important, the fact that he threw appleseeds all over an insane amount of land that created an amazing diversity of apple varietals. The vast majority of them were probably disgusting but 1/8 of a percent of 1m is still 12.5k.

All the better for making cider!

Found a really old cake recipe, and it called for candied citron. Wife baked one, was excellent.

That's only partially true. The Citron was only one of the original progenitors of modern citrus, with the mandarin and pomelo also contributing. They are also wild, original species.

The papeda and kumquat are also original species, but their contribution to the modern mixed citruses is negligible.

And kumquat.

I Live in the Midwest US, after seeing a key lime tree get down to 7 leaves by spring I was shocked it grew back and produce several fruits. They turned yellow... apparently I've never had a ripe lime before and they are amazing.

Now if the lemon tree can make it...these things are tough to grow here.

Yeah. Key limes would not be right for drinks, especially without adjusting recipes.

Great in pies tho. There’s a reason it’s key lime pie, not just lime pie

Ok, but then what are limes called?

Well damn... I did not know that applied to avacados as well. I've been growing one from seed for a few years now :( What if I buy one from a nursery would those usually be clones capeable of producing fruit?

I've read it can take seven years to produce fruit and not all trees will. And of those many won't taste good and need other avocado trees to pollinate.Nursery ones I think will, grafting from a producing tree is another way.

Mmmmmm.

Key lime pie.

Mmmmmm.

Here’s a video of where I learned about Hass seeds from store bought produce not producing similar genetic offspring:

https://youtu.be/yWAR_DotvZs

What do they call Persian limes in Persia?

I thought key limes came from the Florida Keys.

I see a lot of key lime pie comments in this thread. I challenge that with calamondin pie. Superior in every way except for commercial transportation and long term storage. Now that’s a true southern Fl speciality.

Banana. But in Spanish.

The green ones? Lemons

Lemon is limón amarillo, limes are limón and key limes are limas

Honduran lemons.

>Apples are all hybrids too and it is fascinating

Oops, all hybrids!

Veggies are such sluts

>There’s a reason it’s key lime pie, not just lime pie

Guess what? Lime pies are better. "Key" limes grown outside of the Florida Keys suck, and the vast majority of them are grown outside of the Keys. You're better off buying normal limes, saving a bunch of money, and doing less work and in the end you bake a better pie.

https://www.seriouseats.com/are-key-limes-worth-the-price

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Semi-related tangent, lemons and limes are called "citron" and "citron vert" in French, lemon and green lemon. Not to be confused with what we call "citron" in English which is a different, relatively uncommon citrus fruit.

This is incorrect Citrons along with papedas, mandarins,kumquats and pomelos are the original citrus species(as well as Australian citrus species such as finger limes but they had little impact to the development of citrus plants historically) the rest are hybrids

A majority of his orchards were uprooted during Prohibition. Some cideries are trying to bring back some of his hybrids.

This is interesting. I love limes in my alcoholic drinks

Yes I agree

The original margarita recipe would have been made with a key lime.

So many old recipes call for candied peel and it’s the best.

I think the pie originated there. I remember reading a story that some lady saw fishermen in Key West take condensed milk and limes and put them on bread for lunch and decided to make that, but most recipe origins are mythological.

I make a pie with Seville oranges and it’s delicious but I just love bitter oranges

Yummy pie.

It’s really easy, basically a crema catalana in a pie crust, but you slice 2 bitter oranges, half of a lemon and half of a sweet orange into half rounds and lay them in layers at the bottom before you pour the custard in. Highly recommend!

Where I'm from limes are true limes. I've never seen any of those hybrid limes before.

I only recently learned that cider was America’s drink before the temperance movement, but because Germans tended to be less into teetotalerism than Anglos, beer survived but cider didn’t, until recently. I love cider.

Where?

Try cutting a lime into wedges and leaving it covered in salt in a jar on the counter for a week, it takes out the most bitter elements and you can rinse off the salt and eat them like an orange.

I used to like beer and wine until I tried cider. Havent been able to genuinely enjoy beer or wine since

Agree, I was surprised t I see their take also

You are correct

We call Lime or Lemon both Lemon. But we have green lemon, sour lemon, rocky lemon, Omani lemon (dried),...

Thank you. I believe I have a new little project. 😁

So we're having lemon-lime flavored limes?

Corona and 7up

No, limas (limes) in Mexico are sweet; they're rounder and more yellow-green than green

Made with the type of limes commonly grown in the Florida Keys; and doesn't need baking because who wants a hot kitchen in the hot weather?

It's a summer pie that doesn't need baking; originating in a hot climate

Ireland.

Is there a reason, other than the name "Key", that Key West boasts the best key lime pie? The pie you get there is much better than other versions. Just wondered.