# Substituting lime juice for lemon juice when canning



## Honduras Trish (Nov 30, 2007)

Can I make this substitution? We have fresh limes here all the time, but no one grows lemons here, and they don't sell lemons in the market. 

Just wondering. thanks!


----------



## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I think the reason many rcipes call for lemon juice is because in the States, lemons are much more readily available. I think you would be ok with the switch. I'd use just a tad more of the lime juice - say, for every tablespoon of lemon juice called for, use 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 tsp. of the lime juice.

Here's a quote about the acid levels:

_Materials and Methods: The citric acid content of 21 commercially-available juices and juice concentrates and the juice of three types of fruits was analyzed using ion chromatography.

Results: Lemon juice and lime juice are rich sources of citric acid, containing 1.44 and 1.38 g/oz, respectively. Lemon and lime juice concentrates contain 1.10 and 1.06 g/oz, respectively. The citric acid content of commercially available lemonade and other juice products varies widely, ranging from 0.03 to 0.22 g/oz.

Conclusions: Lemon and lime juice, both from the fresh fruit and from juice concentrates, provide more citric acid per liter than ready-to-consume grapefruit juice, ready-to-consume orange juice, and orange juice squeezed from the fruit. Ready-to-consume lemonade formulations and those requiring mixing with water contain &#8804;6 times the citric acid, on an ounce-for-ounce basis, of lemon and lime juice._


http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/end.2007.0304


----------



## Honduras Trish (Nov 30, 2007)

Super-helpful info! Gracias!


----------

