Does Lime Juice Go Bad? What You Need to Know?

7 min readFeb 28, 2022

Does Lime Juice Go Bad? What You Need to Know?

Limes are your all-purpose companion. Does Lime Juice Go Bad ? These tiny and spherical fruits provide a savory flavor and several health advantages to baked products, sweets, drinks, and beverages. And if you’re like me and want to spend less time making ordinary meals while still enjoying lime water, you’ll undoubtedly want ready-to-use lime juice in your kitchen at all times.

Commercially produced lime juice may be purchased in huge volumes. It should be noted, however, that lime juice spoils and that the shelf life is dependent on how it is stored.

Does Lime Juice Go Bad? What You Need to Know

Because it may contain preservatives, commercially available lime juice is already pasteurized and can keep for months. Fresh handmade lime juice, on the other hand, may be difficult to keep.

This article will tell you all there is to know about storing lime juice. We’ll go through why we consider the storage temperature, quantity of light, and container you store the juice in if you want to increase the shelf life of your lime juice.

How long does it take lime juice to spoil?

Lime Juice Purchased Commercially

Lime juice is often sold in bottled or cartoned form. The container already ensures that the lime juice will have a longer shelf life. Furthermore, commercial lime juice is pasteurized to eliminate bacteria and fungus that cause deterioration. Furthermore, most manufacturers add sulfides to lime juice to lengthen its shelf life.

While some goods have best before dates, unopened lime juice may normally be kept in the pantry at room temperature for up to 6 months. When the seal is broken or opened, however, refrigeration is required, and the lime juice can be stored there for 6–12 months.

Does Lime Juice Go Bad

Lime Juice (fresh)

Fresh lime juice degrades fast due to the acidic quality of the juice deteriorating with time. After squeezing, store the juice in a tightly sealed, opaque container. However, fresh juice may only be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Does Lime Juice Go Bad

How can you determine if the lime juice has spoiled?

Appearance and Color

Freshly squeezed lime juice has a transparent yellow tint that fades as it sits. However, the hue is not the best indicator of whether or not lime juice has gone bad. When lime juice is exposed to air, it oxidizes, resulting in the brown tint. This does not necessarily imply that food went bad, but rather that it oxidized.

If the lime juice is placed in a sealed, opaque bottle or container and you detect browning once opened, it may indicate that the lime juice is no longer of the highest quality. Checking for mold and curdling is also a good idea. If these are present, a fungus or bacterium may have caused the spoiling.

Odor

Lime has a fragrant, lemony fragrance since it is a citrus fruit. A deep whiff of your lime juice is also a good technique to determine its quality. When the citrus aroma fades and the lime juice emits a terrible, strange stench, it’s an indicator that the lime juice has gone bad.

Taste

Fresh lime juice has a sour, acidic flavor with a hint of sweetness, which is also known as citrus flavor. This is owing to its high citric acid concentration. This makes it a well-known component in sweets and beverages, although its flavor evolves over time. When lime juice is close to spoil, it loses its zesty flavor.

How can we keep lime juice fresh?

Use Transparent Containers

Lime juice is photosensitive. When lime juice is exposed to direct sunshine, it can soon become sour. If you store the lime juice in an opaque container with an airtight lid, it will last longer. Furthermore, if you bought lime juice in a bottle or carton, be sure it’s opaque and light can’t flow through.

Finally, keep the container somewhere where light cannot enter. If you’re concerned about the vitamin C level of the lime juice, keep in mind that heat and light both degrade vitamin C.

Refrigerate

Warmer settings are ideal for microorganisms. While commercially available lime juice is already pasteurized, once the seal is opened, there is still a risk of infection. By storing the bottle in the refrigerator, you can inhibit the proliferation of harmful microorganisms. Germ development and multiplication are inhibited by the chilly environment.

Keep the bottle shut.

When the seal is broken, two things happen that reduce the shelf life of your lime juice: contamination and oxidation. To avoid these issues, avoid touching the bottle’s lid and make sure to always close it. Some bacteria can be present in the air and enter the bottle if it is not well closed.

When it comes to oxidation, air enters into the container and produces oxidation, which affects the lime juice’s integrity and can even change the color of the lime juice. It’s important to note that color change and oxidation aren’t always indicators of rotten lime juice, but rather that it’s starting to go bad.

Choosing the Best Juicer

While you can always squeeze limes by hand to get fresh juice, some people prefer to use electric juicers. However, using the appropriate juicer is essential, as some juicers spin swiftly and contribute heat and oxidation to the juice, leading it to degrade quickly.

If you find the hand squeezing method inefficient, you may utilize slow juicers or even a manual hand juicer to maintain nutrients while producing the most freshly squeezed juice.

What if you drink rotten or expired lime juice?

While lime juice itself is not harmful to human health, the presence of fungus, bacteria, or viruses is one of the reasons why lime juice spoils. Toxins produced by these microbes have the potential to cause food poisoning.

Food poisoning symptoms emerge quickly, depending on the individual’s health state and age. Children acquire symptoms faster than adults. If you ingest expired lemon juice and get diarrhea, you may have food poisoning. Food poisoning occurs when you eat tainted food or drink.

Diarrhea is a frequent symptom of food poisoning, but it is not the only one. Stomach pain, cramps, fever, chills, weakness, nausea, headache, and vomiting are all symptoms. If you detect blood in your diarrhea or vomit, call your doctor right away. Some bacteria may take a few days to impact your digestive tract, causing symptoms to appear later.

Cooking with stale lemon or lime juice might contaminate the entire dish, so keep an eye on its freshness. Make an appointment with your doctor to determine the cause of your diarrhea. Diarrhea induced by food poisoning is usually treated with a change in diet and an increase in fluid intake to avoid dehydration.

Is the shelf life of lemon juice and lime juice the same?

In general, these two have opposing preferences and looks. Lemon juice is cleaner and lighter in color than lime juice. Their freshly squeezed juice has the same shelf life and may be kept correctly for up to three days. When it comes to commercially purchased ones, however, they differ depending on the storage directions and expiration date.

Is fresh lime juice superior to store-bought lime juice?

While both contain critical vitamins and have a similar flavor, homemade lime juice offers several advantages. Fresh handmade lime juice is perfect for individuals who only require enough lime juice for a house gathering or a few of meals. You have perfect control over how much lime juice you make, and you avoid wasting an entire bottle of store-bought lime juice. You also receive the most taste!

Is lime juice able to be frozen?

Because commercially bottled lime juice has an unusually long shelf life, freezing it is usually unnecessary. However, if you make too much lime juice and don’t want to waste it, you may freeze it. Because we only need a small amount of lime juice, freezing it in an ice cube tray may be the best option.

Is it possible to utilize rotten lime juice?

While rotten lime juice cannot be used as an ingredient in your favorite meals, it can be used as a cleaning agent and a deodorizer instead of being discarded. Lime is a low-cost, fragrant ingredient that is highly beneficial in the kitchen and is extremely safe for both equipment and human health.

To refresh your white garments, you can use lime instead of harsh bleach. A half-glass of lime juice combined with water in your washing machine’s rinse cycle may help brighten your clothes. A teaspoon of lime juice mixed with cleaning products or water can refresh the smell of your kitchen. Unlike vinegar, lime has a nice aroma and helps to keep the kitchen clean and mild.