The juice is sour as lemon juice, but more aromatic. Further aroma compounds are terpineol, bisabolene and other terpenoids. In contrast to the more subtropical lemon , lime requires tropical climate. Today, many different lime varieties are known and cultivated.
Limes cultivated in tropical Asia have similar fruits.
Etymology On the botanical genus name Citrus , see lemon . The two fruits have often been confused in the Middle Ages. Mostly, the fruit juice is used to impart a sour and refreshing fragrance to cold and warm dishes and drinks. Lime juice resembles lemon juice in its acidity, but is much more aromatic. If lime juice is substituted by lemon juice, the result will always be boring and disappointing.