Key lime

Citrus· citrus

What it is

Key lime is Citrus × aurantiifolia, a small, thin-skinned lime associated with the Florida Keys.

What it tastes like

On the nose: citrus, camphor, pine, floral. Among its measured molecules: trans-α-Bergamotene, β-bisabolene, neral, camphene, α-thujene.

What goes with it

Pomeloboth carry geranial, lemoncite
Sageboth carry camphene, camphorcite
Rosemaryboth carry camphene, camphorcite

166 more go with it. See them all in the full library →

Salt and acid

Salt

Salt not measured yet.

Acid

0 %Apple2 %Cranberry4 %Apple cider vinegar6 %Balsamic vinegar8 %Makrut lime

Acid 7.39 % (g/100 mL) — the library's own composition sheet.

Unusual pairings

Pairs the library can cite that almost nobody makes.

Key lime + Pomelo
both carry geranial, lemon (41 of 338 carry it)
Key lime + Lemongrass
both carry geranial, lemon (41 of 338 carry it)
Key lime + Sage
both carry camphene, camphor (60 of 338 carry it)

15 of 16 compounds on file carry a paper the library can cite.

linaloolaromaalcoholreads as spicy, citrus taste (PubChem)Measured in 91 of 338 ingredients.cite
1.85% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 13 'β-Linalool')
camphenearomaterpenoidreads as camphor-like (PubChem)Measured in 19 of 338 ingredients.cite
0.65% of fresh key lime whole-fruit essential oil — Elkhawas et al. 2025, Frontiers in Chemistry (TABLE 1, row 'Camphene', 'Area% fresh' column)
alpha-pinenearomaterpenoidreads as odor of turpentine (PubChem)Measured in 71 of 338 ingredients.cite
0.71% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil -- markedly lower than the other two sources — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 18 'α-Pinene')
γ‑terpinenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 44 of 338 ingredients.cite
11.3% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil, the second-largest constituent — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 2 'γ-Terpinene')
terpinen-4-olaromaalcoholreads as pine (PubChem)Measured in 41 of 338 ingredients.cite
2.18% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 12 'Terpinen-4-ol')
terpinolenearomaterpenoidreads as terpene taste (PubChem)Measured in 38 of 338 ingredients.cite
4.36% of fresh key lime whole-fruit essential oil — Elkhawas et al. 2025, Frontiers in Chemistry (TABLE 1, row 'α-Terpinolene', 'Area% fresh' column)
beta-pinenearomaterpenoidreads as terpene odor (PubChem)Measured in 55 of 338 ingredients.cite
9.39% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 4 'β-Pinene')
alpha-terpineolaromaalcoholreads as floral, lilac (PubChem)Measured in 54 of 338 ingredients.cite
4.28% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 7 'α-Terpineol')
α-thujenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 19 of 338 ingredients.cite
0.15% of fresh key lime whole-fruit essential oil — Elkhawas et al. 2025, Frontiers in Chemistry (TABLE 1, row 'α-Thujene', 'Area% fresh' column)
limonenearomaterpenoidreads as pleasant lemon-like (PubChem)Measured in 91 of 338 ingredients.cite
25.5% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil -- the largest single constituent, though at a markedly lower share than the other two sources — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10 (Chemical composition of lime essential oil by GC-MS analysis), row 1 'D-limonene')
myrcenearomaterpenoidreads as pleasant (PubChem)Measured in 68 of 338 ingredients.cite
0.54% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 19 'β-Myrcene')
geranialaromaterpenoidreads as strong lemon odor (PubChem)Measured in 21 of 338 ingredients.cite
9.68% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil -- the third-largest constituent in that source, well above the Taiwanese figure — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 3 'α-Citral')
neralaromaterpenoidMeasured in 18 of 338 ingredients.cite
8.09% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 5 'Cis-citral')
trans-α-BergamotenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 3 of 338 ingredients.cite
3.24% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 10 'Trans α-bergamotene')
β-bisabolenearomaterpenoidMeasured in 10 of 338 ingredients.cite
4.05% of Sudanese lime peel essential oil — Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology (Table 10, row 9 'β-Bisabolene')

On file, no cited source yet ✳

These molecules are on record for it from the library's earlier sources. We are buying and requesting the papers; each one that lands moves its molecule up into the cited list.

1,4-cineoleterpenoid

Sources

Mohammed et al. 2024, International Journal of Microbiology
Elkhawas et al. 2025, Frontiers in Chemistry

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