Lime juice can be prepared and concentrated in large amounts at high rates in the same general manner as for orange and grapefruit juices, using similar equipment.
Since lime juice contains a higher percentage of organic acids than of carbohydrates, the degree of concentration is determined as grams per liter of acid rather than the degrees Brix (approximate percentage of sugars) commonly used for other citrus concentrates. Most lime concentrates are evaporated to about 400–500 g/L.
Lime juice from the fresh fruit and from juice concentrates, provide more citric acid per litre than ready-to-consume grapefruit juice, ready-to-consume orange juice, and orange juice squeezed from the fruit.
Acid lime fruits are similar to lemon fruits in structure and composition, and juices from the two species have about the same citric acid content. Also, malic and succinic acids have been reported in lemon and lime juices. Most of the sugars and nearly all the citric acid of acid limes are in the juice which also contains nitrogenous compounds, lipids, phenolic compounds, vitamins such as vitamin C and B and inorganic substances.
The soluble solid of the juice consist mainly of sugar and citric acid. The total acid content in acid lime is varied ranges from 5% - 7.5% and total soluble solid 5.5% - 8.5%. The acid content in juice plays an important role in determining the quality of a variety as well as maturity indices of fruit.
Characteristics of lime juice
