Completely ripe Bearss Limes are YELLOW. They are normally picked before they are ripe for the commercial market because people expect limes to be green.

Depending on how sour you want them, you can pick them anytime after they have reached full size. They will be better if you wait for them to start to turn yellow. They will eventually go completely yellow and then when completely ripe, they will fall off. Since you want limes to be sour, waiting until the very last is not necessary.

yep limes are ripe when yellow. But as already stated you can use them anytime. I had a couple of my bearrs limes get knocked off when they were about the size of a golf ball. I cut them up and they tasted just fine.

Mike

While they may be considered ripe when yellow, the acid levels also drop considerably. They lose a lot of the limey tang.
I usually have plenty so I'll just cut one open. You may find that they change to a lighter shade of green when they will be ready to use.

Thank you to all of you. I had no idea they were ripe when yellow. When I get a few more, I will definitely experiment with taste.

Patricia