Dehydrated Limes

Got too many limes on your hands? Dehyrdating limes at home in an easy way to cut down on waste, save money and preserve your limes for later use.

Whether you’re looking to take your cocktail game to the next level, or just infuse some lime flavour into your life, drying your limes will mean you have plenty of lime goodness on hand for months or years to come.

Read on to learn how to make dried limes at home, and how to use them.

By the way, yes these are pictures of dried limes, not dried oranges. Did you know limes turn yellow as they ripen? Me neither!

Green limes that you see in the store are actually under ripe! They are harvested prior to turning yellow so that they last longer in cold store, and can be transported more easily. But if you have a lime tree at home, I recommend leaving a few on the tree long enough to turn yellow. Yellow limes are more juicy and sweeter than their green siblings. Give those yellow limes a go!

How to use dried limes

So you’ve seen gorgeous eye catching photos of dried citrus wheels on Instagram or Pinterest, but you have no idea what you would actually use dehydrated limes? Believe me, dried limes can be used in so many DIY products, gifts and foods. Why not try some of the ideas below:

• Dip dried limes in dark chocolate and give as a gift or enjoy as a healthy treat.
• Infuse into a warm cup of to your favorite tea.
• Store in the pantry so that you have some lime flavor on hand to stir through curries or stir fry.
• Make some DIY potpourri.
• Hang them on string and make Christmas ornaments.
• Add as decoration on cakes or cupcakes to take your baking to the next level.
• Make a classy centrepiece by arranging on a table with greenery.
• Blend into a powder and add to macarons and meringues.
• Make some sophisticated homemade gift tags.
• Crush into a powder and add salt, paprika and chilli flakes for a homemade chilli lime seasoning.
• Add crushed lime powder and cilantro to smashed avocado to level up your guacamole.
• Use dried lime powder in lieu of lime leaves and make this Thai seasoning.
• Infuse into a spray bottle of homemade cleaner, to leave your house smelling lush.
• Crush into a powder and mix with sugar and coconut to make lime and coconut snickerdoodle cookies.
• Add to dried lime slices and mint to mocktails/cocktails.
• Infuse into vodka to make lime extract.

Remember, since dried limes last for so long, you don’t need to do all these things at once or even within a month. I mean, you can if you really want to, but personally I’d be sick of limes by the end of that month. Drying limes means you can store them and savor the flavor over months or years to come.

How to dry limes in the oven

Dehydrated limes are so easy to make. Literally, all you need is one ingredient (LIMES!) and you can make them in your oven with few kitchen tools you probably already have at home.

• Step 1: Thoroughly wash your limes, dry the skins with a cloth or paper towel, and slice them parallel to the hemisphere into wheels (like the image below).
• Step 2: Arrange the lime slices in a single layer on an oven tray (making sure to leave plenty of room for the air to circulate).
• Step 3: Bake in the oven at 170 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius) for 3-5 hours. The length of time you’ll need will depend on the thickness of your lime slices (the thicker the slice, the longer it will take).
• Step 4: Flip your lime slices and rotate the tray every 30-45 minutes or so (to make sure each slice dries evenly).

You’ll know the limes are ready when they are completely dry and brittle. You want to bake them until absolutely all the moisture has disappeared.

Frequently Asked Questions

And. that’s it! As a side note, if you’re looking for other ways to preserve limes, do check out my blog post on what to do when you have too many limes.

Stay safe and bon-a-petite!