Getting the Most Juice from Your Limes
Rolling limes against the counter was the simple solution to getting the most juice.
Milk Street Basic
The Internet is awash with hacks for maxing the juice you get when squeezing limes. So we compared the most popular techniques on eight limes each—soaking the limes in warm water, rolling them on the countertop or between your hands, and microwaving them—to see which group was the juiciest.
The winning method was a tried-and-true one: firmly rolling limes against the counter or between your hands just before slicing and juicing them. The pressure breaks down the fruits’ internal membranes, causing them to burst. Once these membranes—called juice vesicles—are ruptured, the liquid inside them is easier to extract.
But if you’re pressed for time when pressing your citrus, consider skipping the hacks entirely. Doing nothing but slicing
and squeezing the limes was our second best approach, producing only 50 grams less juice than we got from applying pressure first.
Hacks involving heating—either by microwaving the limes or warming them in water—fared worst. Warmed limes actually yielded less juice. Heating was also the only method that affected flavor. Juice from the microwaved limes had bitter notes.
