Freezing Limes

[GoalieJeff]

So I went a little crazy at the farmers market and bought like 5 pounds of fresh limes . I have used quite a few , but I know I'll never use them all before they go bad . I looked up freezing limes and most sites recommended against freezing them whole . Thing is , I just want the juice and would rather not juice them all and deal with the whole ice cube tray thing . So - can I freeze them whole or not ?

[cakesncookies]

Is it better to juice the limes first and then freeze them or to freeze the whole lime? I would like to use the juice for key lime pie

[KTinNYC]

Juice them first. Frozen limes turn to mush.

[Sean]

Freezing them usually results in a mushy product. Ice crystals tear the cell walls of the lime and the juices flow out into the other cells. However, I don't think this would effect the quality of the juice.

[Veggo]

What are you gonna to do with a thawed lime? And why tie up valuable freezer space because you're feeling lazy today? Put on a zztop cd, pour a glass of wine, and juice the limes. You don't have the extra ice trays, I expect, so put the juice in little zip lock bags and freeze them. It'll make you a better man. Goalies lose teeth and kneecaps, and you're past that stage. But to shy away from a breakaway by a bag of limes?

Postscript: we have anguished about the dearth of limes for 2 months here, and the lack of juice in them, as we await local product, so maybe your quandary is a harbinger that.....limes are back!!!

[litchick]

I freeze limes and lemons whole. Here's the thing though, you'll want to use them as soon as you defrost them. After thawing, if they hang around for even just a few hours, they beome mushy and unappealing. Also, frozen limes and lemons are best used for their juice -- they're not teriffic for zest or for garshinment.

My freezer stash is for emergencies, and it's proved very useful on occasion. I remove the lime from the freezer, then microwave on the defrost setting at 8-10 second increments until it seems like I've jump-started the thawing process. After that, I leave it out on the counter -- it usually thaws totally withing 15 mins or so, and this is ready for halving and juicing.

[Pakkai]

Here's a family tip that may work for whole limes.
During Strawberry season we freeze whole strawberries in a ice chest using dry ice. Place strawberries on old pie plates. The dry ice freezes things quickly and at a much colder temperature than your typical freezer. Total time more or less is 30 minutes. Than we pop them into the freezer using gallon baggies. To use-- thaw at room temperature and you get "not mushy" but good as new fruit.

[Aromatherapy]

I've had fine luck freezing whole limes and since I use them for juice I don't care if they're mushy. No more withered mystery balls in the crisper. Thanks for the micro tip.

[Pat Hammond]

Limes get to be cheap as dirt around here, like 13/$1. I'm certainly going to freeze a bunch of them. Glad to hear that it has been successful for you. Thanks.

[rworange]

Limes really do keep a long time in the vegetable crisper of the fridge ... sometimes a few months.

[Isabella]

Personally, I would not freeze the limes whole.
What I would do and have done is juice the limes
and put it in small glass bottles with lids
(like a very clean 16oz juice container) and stick
it in the fridge.

It is easy to use up rather quickly this way.
And also gives you a day or two to then do the ice cube tray
thing if you decide to that. Breaking it up makes it seem like less work.

[Pat Hammond]

I'd sure try it, with one or two. It seems to me that frozen and thawed would juice easily. But maybe they get too mushy to squeeze. Worth a try!