How to Extract Juice From a Key Lime

Key limes are smaller and lighter than other limes.

The typical recipe for key lime pie calls for a 1/2 cup of key lime juice, which is around the amount of juice that can be squeezed from a pound of key limes. Though you might be tempted to cheat and use regular lime juice, the pie may lack the particular tartness that is associated with the key lime. And if you are thinking about bottled key lime juice, they are known to contain excess sugar. The good news is that extracting juice from a key lime is relatively simple.

Things You'll Need

• Lime squeezer
• Bowl

Instructions

1. Allow the key limes to reach room temperature if they are refrigerated to soften them. Speed up the process by rolling them back and forth under your hand five to ten times, or until they soften.

2. Cut the key lime in half between the ends, or nodes. Place the lime half in the lime with the exposed inside facing downward into the lime squeezer.

3. Hold the slotted end of the squeezer over the bowl, and press the two legs of the squeezer together. The juice will empty out into the bowl.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have a citrus juicer, use a fork to ream each half of the limes

References

• "The Key Lime Cookbook"; Joyce LaFray Young and George Hardy; 2007