Name: Key lime, also called Mexican lime or West Indian lime (Citrus × aurantifolia). A smaller, more aromatic, thinner-skinned relative of the common Persian lime (Citrus × latifolia) found in most supermarkets.
Description
Key limes are small, oval to round fruits, typically only 3–4cm across, with thin greenish-yellow peel and tender, juicy, notably tart pulp that often exceeds even lemons in acidity and sugar content. They likely share the same Southeast Asian origins as other limes, reaching the Americas with early Spanish colonization and later becoming naturalized in the Florida Keys, which gave the variety its common name.
Key limes are best known today as the defining ingredient of key lime pie, a custard-style dessert of egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and key lime juice that originated in Key West, Florida. Commercial key lime growing in the Keys has declined sharply due to hurricanes and citrus canker disease, so most key lime products sold today, including bottled juice, are grown elsewhere and imported.
Main nutrition value
No USDA entry exists specifically for key lime; per 100g, raw lime (the closest documented match):
As with limes generally, the standout nutrient is vitamin C, alongside a modest amount of fiber and small contributions of potassium and iron. In practice, key limes are consumed in such small quantities per dish that they add flavor far more than meaningful nutrition.
How best to be consumed
Key limes are used almost exclusively for their juice and zest — in key lime pie, marinades, and mixed drinks — rather than eaten out of hand, since the small fruit yields relatively little juice for its size and is very tart. Fresh-squeezed juice has a brighter, more floral flavor than bottled substitutes, though the difference is subtle enough that most recipes work fine with either.
Overconsumption could cause…
The same general citrus cautions apply: concentrated lime juice is acidic enough to erode tooth enamel or irritate a sensitive stomach with frequent heavy use, and lime peel and juice contain compounds that can cause a sunlight-triggered skin reaction (phytophotodermatitis) if juice contacts skin that is then exposed to strong sun. These risks apply to unusually heavy, repeated exposure, not to normal culinary use in a pie or a drink.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central — Limes, raw (FDC ID 168155), 100g portion: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/168155/nutrients (no separate USDA entry exists for key lime; the general raw-lime figures below are the closest documented match) Encyclopaedia Britannica — Key lime: https://www.britannica.com/plant/key-lime
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