I really love the flavor of lime. It is probably my favorite citrus fruit.
But, there are some recipes that would be significantly different if you were to use lime instead of lemon.
This is especially true for cocktails and desserts.
I can eat lemons out of hand, peel and all ( works better with Meyer lemons as I mentioned in another thread ). I can’t do that ( as easily) with limes :).
Limes have more sugar, I believe. I’ve had the same experience with lemon chicken, and I think this is the cause. I love limes, and I use them more often than lemons, but there is a fundamental difference, and sometimes it can burn you.
I had an extremely hazy night involving lemons and gin a couple years back. Took me the better part of an hour to find my house afterwards.
To me, limes are sweet, while lemons are tart. (I’m talking straight fruit or juice, not sweetened in any way) They are substantially different in taste and bite, to me, so that the uses for them really are just too different to expect a direct substitution to work all the time.
Limeade > lemonade any day, though. 
Edited to add: As somewhat of a side note, one can add just some lemon juice, not even much, to a pan with a chicken roasting in it, and the entire chicken will taste like lemon when it’s done roasting. I did this once, figuring I had to use a lot of lemon juice, and holy crap…the chicken was so fricking lemon-ey it was almost inedible.
So the limes-under-the-skin thing…well…I’d suggest trying it again, but with a lot less lime, is all.
Ditto regular tea! Lime would be weird.
Forty-seven posts and no one’s mentioned lime wedges, as opposed to lemon with Corona, etc., for those who like to have a wedge with their suds.
Although I’ve seen recipes for both, I love margueritas with lime, not lemon.
And I will be making limeade tomorrow, as soon as I can get to the greengrocer.
I am entirely of your opinion, MeanOldLady. Since the latino markets around here sell key limes (or “limons”) by the bagful, I always have a couple of dozen limes around. Then I find myself reaching for them for any recipe calling for lemon, and they never disappoint.
And I do prefer limeade to lemonade. The Vietnamese pho joints here in San Jose serve fresh-squeezed limeade and it’s hell on diets, as a glass can contain up to 1/3 cup of sugar.
A lime isn’t just a green colored lemon. It has a strong taste that clashes with 90% of things you would otherwise squeeze lemon on. I don’t like limes, anyway (except Key Lime Pie which is made with, duh key limes) - but a wedge of lime does look pretty, perched on the rim of a glass. I’ve made lemon bars, with the crust you bake and then take out, pour in lemon juice, eggs, and sugar, and bake some more. and then I’ve substituted orange juice, or lime juice. They came out tasting OK, like those sugar coated slice-shaped jelly candies. But not as delicious as lemon.
Might as well ask “Is there anything chicken does that turkey doesn’t do better?” or vice versa. They’re both good, but each has some uses it’s better for than the other.
I like to squeeze a nice lemon on my fish when I get fish and chips. I can’t see that being the same with lime. If no lemon was available, I’d probably just dunk the fish in catsup before I’d resort to lime.
That’s not to say I hate lime, or would never use lime on anything, just one example of lime not doing it better.
Pie, curd, and scurvy-prevention have already been mentioned, so I don’t have anything positive to add.
But! Lemons are better at giving me a headache than limes are- I get a headache if I drink too much lemonade, but have never gotten to that point with limeade.
That’s because limes are used in Corona everywhere I’ve ever seen someone order one.
My father does that. I once watched him take the wedge of lemon off the edge of his glass of iced tea and pop the whole thing in his mouth, chew, and swallow. A big wedge of lemon, just like that. Like it was a french fry or a cookie. I don’t think he winced or anything. I stared for a minute, nonplussed. Not something I see every day.
I’m a lime fan. I’m not all that fond of lemons.
However…artificial lime flavoring is vomitous.
Hereinafter referred to LCI.
People keep saying lime doesn’t go good on fish, but if you like lime, yes it does.
So I’ve got lemon, limes, gin, tonic, and chicken at home. I say for dinner I throw some lemon into a G&T and put some lime underneath the chicken’s skin. Edit: Wait, no, the chicken at home is boneless and skinless. Well I can still have that gin and tonic for dinner. The chicken will have to wait for another day.
A good Tom Collins is made with freshly squeezed lemon juice, gin, and a spoonful or two of sugar. Nothing more. Shaken for a good long time. No, longer than that. You gotta shake it for 45 seconds or more. And it’s absolutely amazing - drink of the gods.
I don’t think lime juice would work as well.
Oh man, I haven’t had a Tom Collins in forever. I’ve always had mine using this ingredients, plus with soda water and a cherry.
I use key limes all the time in making hummous. I also add a roasted jalapeño.
I am a huge lime fan, seeing as my mom is from Mexico. We rarely have lemons in the house but always the bags of lime. The key difference for me in cooking is the skin. If you paper slice a lemon and place on salmon, skin and all, it’s wonderful. The lime’s skin is way too bitter. Heat makes it worse.
Pei Wei serves lime with their Pad Thai. At the restaurant it’s great but as a carry out it’s the worst. By the time you get home the heat has spread that bitter taste everywhere. What are they thinking?! I always ask that they pack the limes to the side.
Lemons are better in a Pimm’s cup, in iced tea, and on fish. Other than that, limes rule.