In cooking, what is the difference between using a lemon or a lime?

Question

I am assuming a lime is more tart, but what other difference is there?

Sometimes I substitute a lemon for a lime and really don't see any major difference.

Thanks

Answer 1

A lemon also has a sweeter taste, compared to lime. Lime has the sour zing taste, if you know what i mean lol. That's why you don't get limonade- it's too sour.
For desserts, lime is usually used for something that will be very sweet, so it evens out the sour/sweet combination, whereas lemon is used to give the sour taste only.

Answer 2

They have distinct tastes, but in a pinch can be replaced by the other in a recipe. They do serve the same purpose in cooking. Just remember limes are generally smaller than lemons, so if it says the juice of one lemon, you should use two limes.

Answer 3

The flavour and the colour (if you're using the zest). Also, given the difference in size, you might need 1 1/2 - 2 limes to get the amount of juice that you would get from one lemon.

Answer 4

There's not much of a difference between the both, I use whatever I have on hand and no one can tell if i used limes or lemon

Answer 5

A lemon is used in more mediterraian cuisine, while a lime is more international (mexican, indian, chinese, etc.) and also, a lime is more commonly used to brighten flavours near the end of cooking, while a lemon is more of a key ingredient. The most important thing to remember is FRESH! none of that bottled stuff.

Answer 6

honest,i never knew there was so much of a difference both in taste & flavour between limes & lemons,i grow both these fruit as well as many other citrus fruit.I use the juice of either for flavouring non alcoholic drinks & juices,making salad dressing,as a marinade for meat ,fish & poultry.Lemon or lime juice is also used to flavour curries & other cooked dishes both veg & non vegeterian.In all of these i interchange the juice using either lemon or lime whichever i have handy,but i do agree the flavour is very distinctive for each fruit.

Answer 7

It's not the tartness -that should be the same.

Limes are more often used in say Mexican dishes or fruit salads. Lemons are often used in baking. Try to follow your recipe as the final results will depend on it. The resulting flavors are VERY DIFFERENT

Answer 8

lemon for the taste. And lime for the flavour.

Answer 9

a lemon is for most dinner's there is a big difference in the taste, it would all depend on what you like but lemon is better for cooking and lime is better for beer but can also be used for cooking

Answer 10

A lime has a distinctive flavor, but of course you can substitute if necessary.