I am anosmic (do not have a sense of smell) and therefore am reduced in my perception of flavours to the flavours my tongue can detect, every time I zest a citrus fruit I always hear everyone talk of the smells released and how full of lovely flavours they are, however when I asked them what the distinct flavour each zest gives off I am generally given vague answers that don't help me much, such as
"Orange is generally a full flavour with sweetness, lemons is sharp and lime is sharp and sour"
The reason for asking this question is as a follow up from my previous question on homemade lemonade flavour enhancing, I would like to know what (if any) is the difference in flavour released by the essential oils within the zest of different citrus fruits (lemon, lime and orange). So maybe phrasing it in terms of what flavours they enhance within a lemonade may help hone your answer to my goal of balancing my lemonade even further; though I will probably find it super useful for the rest of my cooking.
Best Answer
If you can't taste it, but others can, chemical composition of the essential oils might prove a useful guide for you.
Ingredients of Orange, Lemon and Lime oils:
First line shows components common to two or more of the fruits. Second line shows components unique to each fruit.
lemon oil
a-pinene, b-pinene, myrcene, limonene, linalool, sabinene, neral
camphene, a-terpinene, b-bisabolene, trans-a-bergamotene, nerol
–––––––––––––––––––––––
Lime oil
a-pinene, b-pinene, myrcene, limonene, linalool,
terpinolene, 1,8-ceneole, borneol, citral and traces of neral acetate and geranyl acetate. ––––––––––––––––––––––––
orange oil
a-pinene, myrcene, limonene, linalool, sabinene, neral
citronellal, gerania
–––––––––––––––––––––––
Looking up the flavors of the unique ingredients should provide a better, more useful answer than "full flavour with sweetness" or "sharp and sour". Looks like the Handbook of Fruit and Vegetable Flavors would be a good place to find this information, but it's a bit on the pricey side.