Limetta
Citrus limetta · Rutaceae family
Lemon-like citrus whose outwardly similar forms range from sharply acidic to nearly acidless.
Find it near DetroitGet to know it
Limetta looks much like a lemon, but its flavour depends on the variety. Millsweet has gentle, low-acid juice; Mediterranean Sweet is acidless; Marrakech limonette is sharply sour. In Morocco the sour kind is preserved in salt, while the sweet kinds offer a much milder bite.
What it is
Millsweet limetta is about 6.4 cm (2.5 in) across, with skin that is golden yellow to pale golden orange when fully ripe. Inside, the flesh is pale yellow with relatively few seeds. The fruit flattens at the end opposite its stalk.
Limetta covers both sweet and sour forms of Citrus limetta. Mediterranean Sweet belongs to this group; Indian sweet lime is a different citrus. For flavour, the names Millsweet, Mediterranean Sweet and Marrakech make a bigger difference than the shared lemon-like appearance.
Where it comes from
The sour limetta grows around Marrakesh in Morocco and in the Ricote Valley of Murcia, Spain. Millsweet also has a long California history: in 1914, buds supplied by J. W. Mills in Pomona entered the citrus collection at Riverside. That named variety is the mild, low-acid member of the group.
How it's eaten where it grows
In Morocco, lamsayyer is limetta preserved with salt. Each fruit is cut open, filled with salt and pressed into a container to preserve; the preserved citrus goes into tagines and salads. This uses the sour Marrakech kind.
In Peru, limas turn up in every market. Lima chef María José Jordán used them in Immortal Technique, her dessert for the 2015 S.Pellegrino Young Chef final: limetta segments lightly pickled in water, sugar, white-wine vinegar and lemon vinegar, chilled, then set beside grilled lime cake, grapefruit frozen yogurt and gin foam.
How it's grown
Limetta is an evergreen tree that can reach 8 m (26 ft), though cultivated trees are generally smaller. It grows in sun and moist soil that drains well. In Britain, a pot in a conservatory or greenhouse gives it a sheltered place to grow.
At Riverside, Millsweet flowers and sets fruit throughout the year, with its main flowering period usually in spring.
When and where you'll find it
At Monterey Bay Nursery in California, Millsweet usually bears most heavily in winter and early spring, with some fruit through the rest of the year. Its long flowering and fruit-setting season also appears at Riverside.
In Morocco, fresh sour limetta is sold in winter in the markets of Rabat and Salé. It also travels preserved in brine: supermarkets in Morocco, France and Spain sell it canned.
Sources · 7
- Givaudan, MarketBitesgivaudanmarketbites.com
- María José Jordán, Identità Goloseidentitagolose.it
- Monterey Bay Nurserymontereybaynsy.com
- Rivera and colleagues, Scientia Horticulturae (2022)asociacionanse.org
- Royal Horticultural Societyrhs.org.uk
- University of California, Riverside Citrus Variety Collectioncitrusvariety.ucr.edu
- USDA and University of California, Citrus IDidtools.org
Get it near Detroit
What it tastes like
Millsweet limetta is low in acidity, so its juice tastes sweet, with just slight tartness. By contrast, Marrakech limonette is highly acidic and Mediterranean Sweet Limetta is acidless — limetta covers a range of acid levels.
Millsweet limetta has low acidity, so its juice tastes sweet, with only slight tartness. It contrasts with the highly acidic Marrakech limonette and the acidless Mediterranean Sweet Limetta.
How to buy it
1ChooseAsk which limetta variety you have — low-acid Millsweet, acidless Mediterranean Sweet and highly acidic Limonette de Marrakech can look alike despite very different acidity
Ask which limetta variety you have — low-acid Millsweet, acidless Mediterranean Sweet and highly acidic Limonette de Marrakech can look alike despite very different acidity.
Detroit, Michigan
