Sweet lime

What it is

This is Citrus limettioides, also called Indian or Palestine sweet lime. Its thin skin can be greenish, yellow or orange-yellow even when ripe. Inside are roughly ten juicy segments.

The Brazilian form called lima doce is about 6 cm (2½ in) across, around the size of a lemon. Millsweet and Tunisian limettas are different fruits that also go by “sweet lime”.

Where it comes from

Sweet lime has a long history in India, where one of its names is mitha nimbu. It also grows in Egypt, northern Vietnam, other Mediterranean countries and tropical America. It reached the United States from Saharanpur, India, in 1904. In Brazil, Citrus limettioides goes by lima-da-pérsia.

How it's eaten where it grows

In the West Indies and Central America, people drink straight from the fruit: cut off the stem end, pierce the middle and suck out the juice.

Brazilian salada de frango com melão e lima da Pérsia pairs its segments with chicken, melon and lettuce. Its juice goes into the dressing with yoghurt, honey and basil. Sorbet de lima da Pérsia com manjericão turns the juice into a frozen dessert with basil, sugar and a squeeze of sour citrus.

How it's grown

The tree spreads into an irregular crown, with thorny branches and white flowers. Northern India and Egypt grow it commercially; elsewhere it also grows in gardens. California’s desert and coastal conditions can give the same sweet lime quite different sizes, colours, shapes and rind textures. Growers in India also raise new trees from cuttings, rooting pieces of an existing tree.

When and where you'll find it

In Brazil, whole lima-da-pérsia is sold by the kilo, each fruit weighing about 200 g (7 oz). In São Paulo’s 2023–25 wholesale records, arrivals were highest in March and April, and lowest in December. Pirangi, in São Paulo state, is one of the towns supplying that market.