What are Persian (Tahiti) Limes?

Persian (Tahiti) limes are a popular lime variety with a tart flavor that's wonderful for adding zest to your dishes. Learn all about this special lime below!

Not all limes are the same. Like other citrus fruits, this zesty produce comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and flavors. For example, the Persian lime is perfect to cook with and complete your dishes.

The Origin Of The Persian Lime 

Persian limes, also known as Tahiti limes, have unknown origins. It's suspected that this citrus fruit is a hybrid of a Mexican citron and lime, which is a huge lumpy yellow-green lemon.

Botanists believe this lime was introduced to the Mediterranean area through Persia which is now Iran (hence this lime's name). This lime was carried to Brazil by Portuguese traders and it eventually made way to California towards the latter part of the 1800s.

About Persian Limes Today 

Today, Florida is the largest grower of these limes. This state grows about ninety percent of this citrus fruit.

Persian limes are used frequently for both canned and fresh lime juice, as well as a frozen juice concentrate. Since the Persian lime tree does not have any thorns, these trees produce a fruit that's larger and with skin that's thicker than a key lime tree. 

These traits make the Persian lime a preferred commercial crop. This fruit is oval-shaped and about the same size as a lemon, and has a vivid green peel that actually turns yellow when this citrus is ripe. 

Where To Buy Persian Limes

You can buy Persian limes at your local grocery store or direct from our popular citrus fruit collection and have them delivered straight to your door. These limes tend to be seedless and have a pulp that is yellow to light green. The pulp of these limes are tender but also acidic, and lacks that distinctive bouquet that you are probably familiar with from key lime. 

Uses For Persian Limes 

You can use Persians limes interchangeably for the same purposes you would use lemons and key limes for. You can also use these limes as a substitute for vinegar. You can even use the juice of Persian limes as a way to clean those stubborn lime deposits that pop up on the inside of tea kettles and coffee pots. 

The juice of Persian limes can also be used homeopathically to help effectively relieve pain from stinging coral, which is good to know if you love swimming in oceans. Since these limes are larger than key limes, you can get more juice out of them than from the limes you are probably used to.

This lime juice benefit makes these limes ideal for any recipe where you need a lot of lime juice like zesty lime marinades, guacamole, delicious margaritas, mojitos, and limeade. Or to simply slice up these limes and put them in a big glass of water.

Since key limes, lemons and Persian limes can be used for most of the same things, the possibilities for cooking with Persian limes are seemingly endless. Anytime a recipe calls for some lime juice, use a Persian lime. This big lime will give you more juice and will last you much longer than many other tiny limes. 

Try Some Fresh Persian Limes Today!

Now that you know more about the Persian (Tahiti) lime, try cooking with these limes today!

Try our seasonal citrus box while its available...the Craft Citrus Club!

Our Rio box is a 15-lb curated box of our fresh-harvested citrus from South Texas. The fruit is NOT gassed, rather it is tree-ripened. Our season runs from Nov-May for  oranges, grapefruit and mandarins.

Our Grande box is a 30-lb box of either fresh-harvested Rio Red Grapefruit or Sweet Oranges from South Texas.