Key Lime Pie

2010-11-26T21:47:35Z

Docclabo: Capitalized "Conch."

{{For|the [[studio album]] by [[Camper Van Beethoven]]|Key Lime Pie (album)}}
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[[File:Key limepie.jpg|thumb|250px|Key lime pie]]
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[[File:Keylimepiecut.jpg|thumb|250px|Cut-away view of a key lime pie.]]
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[[File:Slice of key lime pie by Marc Averette.jpg|thumb|250px|A slice of key lime pie.]]
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{{Commons category|Key lime pie}}
'''Key lime pie''' is an [[United States|American]] [[dessert]] made of [[key lime]] juice, [[egg yolk]]s, and [[sweetened condensed milk]] in a [[pie]] crust.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Key Lime Pie Recipe| url=http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Food-History-994/key-lime-pie.aspx#| accessdate=2010-03-26}}</ref> The traditional [[Conch (people)|Conch]] version uses the egg whites and has a [[meringue]] topping.<ref name="Conch Cooking, L.P. Artman, Jr., August 1975 Florida Keys Printing & Publishing, page 74">"Conch Cooking" L.P. Artman, Jr., August 1975 Florida Keys Printing & Publishing, page 74</ref> The dish is named after the small key limes (''[[Key lime|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 lime]]s 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.<ref name="Conch Cooking, L.P. Artman, Jr., August 1975 Florida Keys Printing & Publishing, page 74"/> Some cooks add [[food coloring]] to give the pie filling a green color. This practice is frowned upon by those who make traditional key lime pies.<ref>[http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PieHistory/KeyLimePie.htm History of Key Lime Pie]</ref>

During mixing, a reaction between the condensed milk and the [[acid]]ic 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 to ever 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.

==History==
Key lime pie was invented in the late 19th century in [[Key West, Florida]]. The creator of key lime pie is unknown. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://glasgowdailytimes.com/food/x211911403/Tart-and-creamy-key-lime-pies-delight-the-Florida-Keys|title=Tart and creamy, key lime pies delight the Florida Keys|publisher=Glascow Daily News|date=06-11-2008|accessdate=09-11-2010}}</ref>

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. Fresh milk, ice, and refrigeration wasn't available.
Cooks had to rely on condensed milk before the railroad and Overseas Highway were built in the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/PieHistory/KeyLimePie.htm|title=History of Key Lime Pie|publisher=Whatscookingamerica.net|accessdate=09-11-2010}}</ref>

== Legislation ==
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.<ref>A Chronological History of Key West A Tropical Island City, 3rd edition, Stephen Nichols</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web| title=SB 676 - Official State Pie/Key Lime| url=http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=32043| accessdate=2006-08-14}}</ref>

== Notes ==

{{Reflist}}
{{American pies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key Lime Pie}}
[[Category:American pies]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Southern United States]]
[[Category:Sweet pies]]
[[Category:Culture of Key West, Florida]]

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Key Lime Pie