Citric acid is one of the many different forms of acid found in citrus fruits. Citric acid blends with malic and ascorbic acids to give fruits their tart, almost sour taste. The acid also has applications in preventing lettuce from becoming brown, preserving meat products and preventing frozen foods from deteriorating. Citric acid is concentrated in some citrus fruits more than others.
Lemons and Limes
Lemons and limes are among the fruits highest in citric acid content. Fresh lemon juice contains about 48.0 g/L of citric acid while lime juice has around 45.8 g/L. This translates into about 8 percent of the fruit's dry weight, according to Science Daily. Juice concentrate tends to have slightly less citric acid -- about 39.2 g/L. Also, lemonades tend to be significantly lower in citric acid than the lemon juice itself. Lemonades can have around 6.20 g/L of citric acid -- a number much lower than real lemon juice. This higher concentration explains why lemons and limes are the tartest or sourest of all the citric acid-containing fruits.
Oranges
Oranges are another citric-acid containing fruit, but they tend to have much lower citric acid levels than lemons or limes. Ready-to-consume orange juices tend to have more citric acid, about 16.9 g/L per serving, than fresh-squeezed orange juice, which has about 9.10 g/L per serving. This is because more citric acid can be added to orange juice to increase the flavor.
Other Foods
Grapefruits are the largest citrus fruit and grapefruit juice contains about 25.0 g/L of citric acid. Tangerines contain the least citric acid and are high in vitamin C, which your body requires to maintain healthy tissues. Apples, tomatoes and cheese also naturally contain citric acid although in much smaller amounts than oranges, lemons or limes.
Considerations
Although the word "acid" sounds harmful, the citric acid contained in citrus fruits does little more than make your mouth pucker when you bite into a fruit. The citric acid level in fruits like lemons or limes may make it difficult for you to eat a whole one. Your body naturally contains substances called buffers, which help to protect against the changes in pH you can experience when you eat an acid-containing food. These buffers respond to the citric acid in your fruits, increasing the pH in your body to normal levels.
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