Name: Sweet lime (Citrus limetta), also called sweet limetta, Indian sweet lime, or mosambi/musambi in South Asia, and sucaba in parts of Latin America. Despite its lime-shaped, greenish-yellow appearance, it is a genuinely low-acid citrus — unlike a true lime, it is mild enough to peel and eat like an orange.
Description
Sweet lime belongs to the same broad citrus group as the common Persian lime but has lost most of the acidity that defines tart limes, giving it a mild, faintly sweet flavor with little of the sharp bite associated with regular limes or lemons. It is widely cultivated in the Mediterranean region, and separately in South Asia, where the juice (often called mosambi juice in India) is a popular refreshing drink, particularly valued in traditional health remedies for being easy on the stomach.
Because it produces so little acid, sweet lime doesn’t keep or ship as well as tarter citrus and is mostly consumed close to where it’s grown, either eaten fresh or juiced, rather than exported widely like lemons and Persian limes.
Main nutrition value
Like other citrus, sweet lime is valued mainly for vitamin C, along with modest fiber and potassium; because it’s mild enough to drink or eat in larger portions than a tart lime, it can realistically contribute more to daily intake of these nutrients than acidic limes typically do.
How best to be consumed
Sweet lime can be peeled and eaten in segments much like an orange, or juiced on its own — unlike tart limes, its juice is pleasant to drink without added sugar. It is popular as a fresh juice in South Asian cuisine, often served with a pinch of salt or spice.
Overconsumption could cause…
Sweet lime is gentler on teeth and stomach than acidic citrus, but it is still a source of natural sugars, so drinking large amounts of juice regularly can add up in the same way any fruit juice does. Otherwise it carries the same general, mild citrus considerations as its relatives, without the pronounced enamel-erosion or reflux risk of more acidic limes.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central — Limes, raw (FDC ID 168155), 100g portion: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/168155/nutrients (no USDA entry exists for sweet lime; the general raw-lime figures below are the closest documented relative, though sweet lime is far lower in acid and sugar than this table reflects) Encyclopaedia Britannica — Lime (covers sweet lime, Citrus limetta, as a related type; no dedicated Britannica article exists for sweet lime specifically): https://www.britannica.com/plant/lime
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