Kaffir Lime vs Lime: What’s The Difference?

kaffir lime vs lime
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kaffir lime vs lime

Citrus fruits are being used as the food for quite some time now. There are tons of different citrus fruits that are being cultivated and used out there in different parts of the worlds. Their texture, taste and all the other factors vary slightly, but they have the same juicy and a bit tangy taste to them.

Lemon, and lime are two of the most used citrus fruits for cooking as they are used for seasoning, marination and a lot more so you can easily have the better taste and marination for the chicken, beef or port while preparing any such dishes. You might be making the curry, barbecue or some other dish with the meat, lime would add the perfect taste and texture to it.

Even for the drinks like lemonade and mojitos, the lime would add the perfect tangy feeling to it and you are going to love the taste and texture on the drinks. Limes are not as tangy as the lemon, and have a bit of sweet feel to it.

There are different types of limes as well that you can get your hands on and each of them have their own specific features that you are going to love. All these species of lime might not be that popular, but Kaffir lime is one of the best things that you can get. A few key differences between the kaffir lime and lime are:

Kaffir Lime vs Lime

Kaffir lime

Kaffir Lime has a scientific name as well and is known as Citrus Hystrix scientifically. It is basically native fruit in southeast Asia and China and is found there only. The first thing that you are going to notice is that the outer skin of Kaffir lime is not the same as regular lime or lemon, and it has bruises on it.

Moving forward, the color is also solid green unlike limes and you can clearly recognize the Kaffir lime just by looking at it. These bruises on the skin are pretty juicy as well and you will be enjoying the best, ripe feel on the kaffir lime.

Kaffir lime is mostly used in the Indonesian, Chinese and mostly Thai cuisine. Not only the juice of lime is being used for making these cuisines but kaffir lime has leaves that have the light aroma around them and they taste a bit sweet as well.

These leaves are being used in a variety of dishes to add fragrance to the cuisine and decrease the pungent odor on them, especially the sea food being used most widely and commonly in the Asian cuisines. You can also find Kaffir lime being used in the Malaysian cuisine and not only the leaves and juice is used, but the peel is also cooked with the Thai curry paste and more.

Lime

Lime is one of the most commonly found species of citrus fruit in the world. It is a typically, evenly round, greenish in color and it might not be as solid green or dark as the Kaffir lime. The limes are comparatively smaller than lemons and are hardly 3-6 centimeters in diameter. The acidic juice vesicles on the lime are fully ripe and they have best texture and taste with a sweet odor to it.

The bitterness is not found on the limes and the taste is not as sour as the lemon either. Lime is the most commonly used specie of citrus fruits for cooking due to the taste being not so strong and you don’t have to face any issues with it ruining the texture for you or getting the food too bitter.

It is almost identical to the lemons with same smooth peel and there are no bruises on the peel either like lime. But due to the greenish color on lime, you can easily differentiate it from a lemon and they are a bit smaller with round shape as well. The health benefits and nutritional components are almost identical as well.

Kaffir lime is the best option for those who have the acquired taste for it as it might not be the most suitable option for those who are not used to the taste and aroma of Kaffir lime. However, lime is used worldwide in all the different sorts of cuisines and you are going to love using it in the kitchen.

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