Key lime pie is an American dessert made of key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk in a pie crust.[1] The traditional Conch version uses the egg whites to make a meringue topping.[2] The dish is named after the small key limes (Citrus aurantifolia 'Swingle') that are naturalized throughout the Florida Keys. While their thorns make them less tractable, and their thin yellow rind more perishable, key limes are more tart and aromatic than the common Persian limes seen year round in most U.S. grocery stores.
Key lime juice, unlike regular lime juice, is a pale yellow. The filling in key lime pie is also yellow, largely due to the egg yolks.[2]
During mixing, a reaction between the condensed milk and the acidic lime juice occurs which causes the filling to thicken on its own without requiring baking. Many early recipes for key lime pie did not instruct the cook ever to bake the pie, relying on this chemical reaction (called souring) to produce the proper consistency of the filling. The acid in the lime juice actually "cooks" the pie. Today, in the interest of safety due to consumption of raw eggs, pies of this nature are usually baked for a short time. The baking also thickens the texture more than the reaction alone.
Key lime pie was invented in the late 19th century in Key West, Florida. The creator of key lime pie is Fern Butters (1892-1975). It was believed that William Curry, a ship salvager and Key West's first millionaire, had a cook named Aunt Sally. Aunt Sally created the pie. However, some believed that Sally changed the pie that local sponge fishermen already created.[3]
The first recipe for key lime pie was recorded in the 1930s. Key lime pie is made with canned sweetened condensed milk, since fresh milk was not a common commodity in the Florida Keys before modern refrigerated distribution methods.[4]
In 1965, Florida State Representative Bernie Papy, Jr., introduced legislation calling for a $100 fine to be levied against anyone advertising key lime pie that is not made with key limes. The bill did not pass.[5]
In 2006 both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate passed legislation {HB 453} and {SB 676} effecting that key lime pie is the "Official Pie of the State of Florida", as of July 1, 2006.[6]
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