It’s citrus season and, like many gardeners, I’ve found myself with a basket overflowing with limes. My dehydrator has been humming away in the background while I work indoors wearing my winter coat, making the most of every single fruit before they have a chance to spoil.
If you’ve ever been given a bag of limes or picked more than you can use fresh, dehydrating the zest is one of the easiest ways to preserve them.
Many varieties naturally turn yellow as they fully ripen. While they can still be picked green, yellow limes are often juicier and slightly sweeter. The downside is that once they’re picked, they don’t keep for long. Left sitting in a bowl or crate, they’ll soon soften and begin to spoil.
Rather than waste them, I’m using every part of the fruit.
The zest becomes lime zest powder.
The juice becomes homemade lime cordial concentrate.
The leftover pith goes straight into my Bokashi compost system!
Whether your limes came from your own tree, a neighbour, or the supermarket, give them a really good wash first. Store-bought citrus is often coated with a thin wax, and you never know what sprays may have been used. Since we’re using the outside of the fruit, it’s worth taking a few extra minutes to scrub them clean.
Peeling & Dehydrating Lime Zest
There are plenty of ways to remove the zest. Many people use a fine grater or microplane, but I actually prefer a simple vegetable peeler. It removes nice strips of peel while leaving most of the bitter white pith behind. You can also work around any areas of the peel that may be spoilt or have damage.
Lay the strips in a single layer on your dehydrator trays so the air can circulate freely around them. Into the dehydrator they go. I simply let the dehydrator do its thing overnight. By morning, the peel is completely dry and wonderfully crisp. It snaps cleanly between your fingers and the whole kitchen smells absolutely incredible. It’s one of those scents that instantly makes you think of summer, even in the middle of winter.
Making Lime Zest Powder
Once the peel has cooled, grind it in a spice grinder, coffee grinder or high-powered blender. Mine usually ends up somewhere between a powder and flakes. Some pieces become beautifully fine while others stay slightly chunky, and that’s perfectly fine. Both add wonderful bursts of citrus flavour.
Store the finished lime zest powder in an airtight jar somewhere cool and dry, and it’ll be ready whenever you need a hit of fresh lime flavour.
How to Use Lime Zest Powder
This has quickly become one of my favourite pantry ingredients.
Try adding it to:
- Homemade seasoning blends for fish or chicken
- Roast vegetables
- Stir fries
- Soups and casseroles
- Rice dishes
- Marinades
- Salad dressings
- Baking
- Biscuits and slices
- Muffins and cakes
- Cocktail or mocktail sugar rims
A little goes a surprisingly long way.
My next project is turning this fragrant powder into a range of homemade lime seasoning blends, perfect for sprinkling over fish, chicken and vegetables all year round.
Sometimes the simplest ways of preserving food turn out to be the most useful. Instead of watching a basket of limes slowly spoil on the bench, I’ve captured their flavour for months to come — and every time I open that little jar, it will smell just like citrus season all over again.
