Post #326483 by Martiki-bird on Sun, Aug 19, 2007 5:37 AM

Ok I took a couple of food preservation courses when I had a huge crop of cucumbers and peaches to deal with...

To add to everyone else's helpful tips, here are some shelf life times for freshly-squeezed, unpasteurized lime juice:

4 hours at room temperature (68-72F)in a covered container - after 4 hours, potentially unhealthy levels of yeast and mold spores may be present.

As Chip and Andy mentioned, contact with air (O2) causes the lime juice to get stale, so keep it covered. I really like the idea of puting plastic over the juice and I'm going to have to try it...

72 hours at refrigerated temperature (40F) in a covered container. After 72 hours, the juice will lose freshness, but it is still usable in cooking recipes for 2 more days.

Lime juice frozen immediately after squeezing is good one month. Thaw in refrigerator for best quality. Freeze lime juice in ice cube trays and transfer frozen cubes to airtight bags, or freeze in containers with 1/2" headspace (air between the top of the container and the juice). You have to leave the space there for expansion, otherwise the juice will push the top off.

A few more things: whole limes keep for about 1 week at room temperature and one month refrigerated. Don't leave them in the sun on the counter which can compromise the quality.

Also check with your County Extension office for food preservation info for better authority than mine. They usually have all sorts of guides on canning, freezing and storing fresh and prepared produce.

Hope this helps!

[ Edited by: Martiki-bird 2007-08-19 09:25 ]