How Many Key Limes for Key Lime Pie?

[Norm Man]

I am inspired to make a Key Lime Pie after reading this thread:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/384450

I am going to make Joe's Stone Crab Key Lime Pie recipe. My question is how many pounds of key limes do I need to buy to produce 2/3 cup of key lime juice?

At Smart & Final, I counted 22 key limes in a 1 pound pakage of key limes. I didn't know key limes were so small!

Thanks for your help.

[monavano]

Just to put my .02 worth of experience here! I made awesome key lime bars from America's Test Kitchen. They recommended, after testing both key limes and Persian limes, that the difference in lovely lime taste wasn't worth squeezing so many key limes. I know other's MMV, but I found that the ease of access to regular old limes and having to squeeze far less of them made the recipe easy to make anytime.
Good luck!

[mountaincachers]

So, how did the pie turn out?

[Kelli2006]

The net bags of Key Limes seen in groceries will produce 3/4 to 1 cup of juice if they are relatively fresh, but I always microwave them for 1 minute on the lowest setting just to be sure that I get the maximum yield.

[Phoo_d]

I have also found that 1lb of key limes will typically provide enoug juice for a pie. However you can always get another pound and use the leftovers to make killer margaritas!
Phoo-D
http://www.phoo-d.com

[jcattles]

You could forego the limes and buy Nellie & Joes Key Lime Juice. I've used it for years and the pies always turn out great.

[mountaincachers]

I disagree...squeezing your own limes takes it to the next level. Once I discovered the garlic press trick, it really wasn't much more work.

[ziggylu]

My husband made a key lime pie over the weekend. He needed 1 cup of juice and thinks he used about 20 limes. We have mexican key limes and they're really juicy this year so maybe the ones at the store have less juice...?

[carolc912]

A few days ago I squeezed about 20 or so key limes that my neighbor gave me from their tree and I got 2/3 cup. I measured this exactly because I was freezing the juice to make a key lime pie in the future. Too bad I didn't know this question was coming up or I could have counted the limes as I juiced them. The limes were small but they had a lot of juice.

[scott123]

A pound should give you 2/3 a cup of juice. If you're feeling paranoid, go with two. If the limes have traveled a distance and are not that fresh, they might have dried out bit, so I'd weigh them and make sure they clock in at a full pound. If it's anything less than a pound, I'd opt for a second bag rather than taking chances.

[mountaincachers]

I believe that 1 pound of limes will give about a half cup of juice, though I imagine that might vary depending on how fresh they are. I made key lime pie from fresh key limes (as opposed to bottled juice) for the first time this summer. It was definitely more limey tasting than bottled (which I really liked) Only after I had very unsuccessfully tried using a citrus reamer on half the bag did I discover that a stainless steel garlic press (obviously garlic smell free) is a very efficient way to squeeze the juice out of a key lime.