Lime comparisons

[brian]

I have long suspected that limes all taste the same. This lead me to believe the Bearss was the only lime worth growing - because it is seedless. I have since changed my mind about this because I hadn't considered that limequats offer the benefit of fruiting year-round, and as I only use limes for their juice I am now thinking I will only keep a limequat long-term instead of Bearss true lime.

However, I've always wondered why Mexican/Key limes were so renowned. Today I was able to do a taste test between Bearss and Giant Key lime. I was moving all my trees into the greenhouse and some fruits fell off so I collected them.

Here is, from top/largest to bottom: nearly ripe Bearss lime, nearly ripe Giant Key lime, immature giant key lime, immature/runt Bearss



- Bearss lime was sweet and pleasant. Limey.

- Giant Key lime was noticeably... more Limey, less sweet. Maybe there is something to this?

- Immature giant key lime was even more so, but so seedy it was hard to tell.

- Immature Bearss lime was.... just like the key limes! So I suspect ripeness matters more than type.


I plan to get rid of my key lime and giant key lime.

[millet]

I had a large in ground Bearss lime tree that produced 100s of fruit, way more that I could ever begin to use.  However, I just don't use many limes except for pitcher of limeade a couple times a year..  I finely dug the tree out and replaced it with an in ground Valentine pummelo which is now about 8-ft high and wide. The Bearss lime is a great lime, but one has to actually use the fruit to make it worth keeping.  Lastly, some time back I also had a Limequat but did not like its fruit at all.   

[mrtexas]

Oct 4, 2019 18:27:40 GMT -5 brian said:

"- Bearss lime was sweet and pleasant. Limey.

- Giant Key lime was noticeably... more Limey, less sweet. Maybe there is something to this?

- Immature giant key lime was even more so, but so seedy it was hard to tell.

- Immature Bearss lime was.... just like the key limes! So I suspect ripeness matters more than type.


I plan to get rid of my key lime and giant key lime."

Really? I love the taste of key lime as in key lime pie. Making it with bearss limes is 
just not the same IMHO! Reminds me of my high school days in Merritt Island, FL from 1968-1973!

[brian]

mrtexas I have heard many people say the same, but it is my personal experience that they taste identical and that ripeness affects flavor far more than cultivar. Maybe I simply don't have a sensitive enough palate for it!

[Laaz]

Key lime has more bite than the bearss.

[sc4001992]

My in-ground Bearss lime tree gives lots of fruits year round. Just picked 50-lbs of fruits, get this much every two months.

Tree is about 12 yrs old, fruits give lots of juice. My neighbor has a key lime and the fruits from his tree does not have much juice when compared to Bearss.

[mrtexas]

I recently had the chance to compare the 3 most popular limequats. 2 friends have mature  trees of the.
I made a glass of limeade each from:

Eustis
Lakeland
Tavares

I have to say IMHO they don't compare in lime flavor to my favorite, key/mexican lime, or my distant second place bearss.
Of course I haven't tasted a really ripe yellow bearss. The "limes" at the grocery are picked green and immature as 
shoppers know a lime is supposed to be green. Then again here near Houston the limequats can survive unprotected
outside and a real lime freezes.

[MarcV]

So... which of the limequats was the best?