# Making Persian-style dried limes
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-persian-style-dried-limes/199753
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 5, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-persian-style-dried-limes/199753 "2003-09-05T16:48:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-persian-style-dried-limes/199753/1 "2003-09-05T16:48:37Z")
I’ve been trying to dry some limes Persian-style. I’m not Persian, and the my Persian friend didn’t really know anything about creating them, only using them.
For details, I’ve blogged about it a few times:
[http://dresese.thehyatts.net/archives/000137.html](http://dresese.thehyatts.net/archives/000137.html)
[http://dresese.thehyatts.net/archives/000157.html](http://dresese.thehyatts.net/archives/000157.html)
[http://dresese.thehyatts.net/archives/000158.html](http://dresese.thehyatts.net/archives/000158.html)
But the short story is that I put them in the sun for months, and now I have some limes now that are dry. But the problem is, according to my Persian friend, they should be dark and rock hard, not pliable at all. The limes I dried turned out somewhat pliable like raisins and very light colored. Did I miss a step, or do I have to dry them further in the oven?
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### Author:  [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2003, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-persian-style-dried-limes/199753/2 "2003-09-05T16:51:32Z")
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that there is a reason I didn’t put it in [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=209209) thread, I thought this was a more specific thread that could perhaps benefit from having the word “Persian” in the title in case there are any knowledgable Iranians among us. I thought it unlikely anyone in that thread might know this very specific question.
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### Author:  [@Chicago\_Faucet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicago_Faucet)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-persian-style-dried-limes/199753/3 "2003-09-05T17:35:11Z")
Oh no, not another Persian-Style Death Lime thread!
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### Author:  [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-persian-style-dried-limes/199753/4 "2003-09-05T19:23:40Z")
It sounds like you are saying in your first link that you weren’t using the correct variety of lime. That could definitely affect the outcome of your experiment!
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### Author:  [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-persian-style-dried-limes/199753/5 "2003-09-05T20:44:43Z")
True, but I did eventually dry it with the correct variety of limes. See the 2nd post. So I think it’s not the variety of limes, if Mexican limes are equivalent to Persian limes. Even if they aren’t completely equivalent, it seems like more of a technique problem then a lime problem.
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### Author:  [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-persian-style-dried-limes/199753/6 "2003-09-05T23:21:20Z")
Are Persian dried limes like Moroccan preserved lemons? Paula Wolfert’s cookbook has a method for those, maybe it works for limes? Use 5 lemons and 1/4 cup salt (more if desired). Quarter the lemons from the top to within 1/2 inch of the bottom, sprinkle salt on exposed fruit, reshape the fruit. Place 1 Tbsp salt in bottom of Mason jar, pack in the lemons, adding salt between layers. Press the lemons down. Let ripen in a warm place, shaking jar each day to distribute salt and juice. Let ripen 30 days. To use, rinse lemons.
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### Author:  [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/making-persian-style-dried-limes/199753/7 "2003-09-05T23:31:01Z")
OK, here are two more links with some info, then I’ll shut up!! because I really don’t know the answer to your question…
[http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/food/goddess/1003.html](http://www.ajc.com/living/content/living/food/goddess/1003.html)
[http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic\_frame.html?Citr\_aur.html](http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Citr_aur.html)