Key lime pie
A Floridian pie named for its aromatic key limes.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Key lime pie is a Florida dessert made from Key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk. It can be served plain, topped with meringue from the egg whites, or with whipped cream. The traditional crust is graham cracker. The pie gets its name from the small Key limes, which are more fragrant than common Persian limes and have yellow juice. Because ripe Key limes are yellow, the filling is yellow as well.
The filling is prepared like a Magic Lemon cream pie: the ingredients are mixed without heat, and the proteins in the egg yolks and condensed milk curdle from the acidic lime juice, thickening the mixture. The pie is usually baked afterward to pasteurize the eggs and further set the filling.
The dessert likely comes from the "Magic Lemon Cream Pie" in a 1931 Borden promotional brochure, credited to their fictional spokesperson Jane Ellison. That recipe used condensed milk, lemon juice and rind, and egg yolks, topped with meringue, baked, and served cold. Pastry chef Stella Parks notes that home cooks swapped in local ingredients, calling it "a stunning reminder of how deeply America's traditions are shaped by advertising." Food writer John Egerton dated Key lime pie in the Florida Keys to at least the 1890s, which author Jean Anderson found credible given refrigeration practices at the time.
A "Tropical Lime Chiffon Pie" with condensed milk and egg yolks appeared in a 1933 Miami newspaper. An "icebox lime pie" was noted as a Florida Keys specialty in 1935, and a recipe called "Key Lime Pie" was published in 1940. No earlier solid records exist, despite public appeals. A 1927 Key West Women's Club cookbook lacks the recipe, and a 1926 restaurant menu lists "lime pie" but its nature is unclear. Various claims of earlier origins exist, but none are documented before 1933. A popular story credits William Curry's cook Aunt Sally with inventing it in the late 1800s, but the oldest version of that tale is from 1995, in promotional materials for a bed and breakfast in Curry's former home.
Key lime pie was promoted as Florida's "most famous treat" in the 1950s, and in 1987 as "the greatest of all regional American desserts."
Key limes (Citrus aurantifolia 'Swingle') grow wild throughout the Florida Keys. Their thorns make harvesting difficult, and their thin, yellow rind spoils faster than common Persian limes. They are more tart and aromatic. Commercial U.S. growing stopped after the 1926 Miami hurricane, so they are now imported from Central or South America. Key lime juice is pale yellow, unlike regular lime juice. Bottled Key lime juice, almost always from concentrate, is widely sold in the United States.
In 1965, Florida State Representative Bernie Papy Jr. proposed a law fining $100 for advertising Key lime pie not made with Key limes, but the bill failed. Florida statute 15.052, passed in July 2006, made Key lime pie the official state pie.
- Origin
- Florida, United States
- Main ingredients
- Key lime juice, egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk
- Typical crust
- Graham cracker crust
- Toppings
- None, meringue, or whipped cream
- State designation
- Official Florida state pie (2006)
- First known recipe name
- Key Lime Pie (1940)
Lore & Background
Key lime pie is probably derived from the 'Magic Lemon Cream Pie' published in a promotional brochure by Borden in 1931. The recipe is attributed to Borden's fictional spokesperson, Jane Ellison, and includes condensed milk, lemon juice and rind, and egg yolks. According to pastry chef Stella Parks, users of the recipe altered it with local ingredients; she describes it as 'a stunning reminder of how deeply America's traditions are shaped by advertising.' In the 1980s, food writer John Egerton dated the presence of key lime pie in the Florida Keys to at least the 1890s, a dating author Jean Anderson characterized as credible due to nature of refrigeration standards of the time.
A 'Tropical Lime Chiffon Pie', using condensed milk and egg yolks, was documented in a 1933 Miami newspaper article. An 'icebox lime pie' was mentioned as a specialty of the Florida Keys in 1935, and a recipe under the name 'Key Lime Pie' was published in 1940. No earlier solid sources are known, despite appeals to the public. A 1927 Key West Women's Club cookbook does not mention the recipe. A 1926 restaurant menu includes 'lime pie', but it is unclear what it was. A widely reported story claims that William Curry's cook Aunt Sally invented it in the late 19th century, but there is no evidence for this, and the oldest version of this story dates to only 1995, in promotional materials for a Bed and Breakfast in Curry's former house.
Reader's Guide
Key lime pie's significance lies in its status as a regional American dessert tied to the Florida Keys and its history of adaptation from a commercial recipe. The pie's filling is made similarly to a Magic Lemon cream pie, by mixing the ingredients without cooking: the proteins of the egg yolks and condensed milk and the acidic lime juice curdle, thickening the mixture without baking. The pies are usually baked to pasteurize the eggs and thicken the filling further. It was in the 1950s that Key lime pie was promoted as Florida's 'most famous treat' and in 1987 as 'the greatest of all regional American desserts.' Florida State Representative Bernie Papy Jr. is said to have introduced geographical indication legislation in 1965 calling for a $100 fine to be levied against anyone advertising Key lime pie not made with Key limes; the bill failed. Florida statute 15.052, passed in July 2006, designates Key lime pie 'the official Florida state pie.' Key limes have not been grown commercially in the U.S. since the 1926 Miami hurricane, and are generally imported from Central or South America.
Did You Know?
- Key lime pie is named after the small Key limes, which are more aromatic than common Persian limes and have yellow juice.
- The filling thickens without baking because the proteins of egg yolks and condensed milk curdle when mixed with acidic lime juice.
- A 1926 restaurant menu includes 'lime pie', but it is unclear what it was.
- Key limes have not been grown commercially in the U.S. since the 1926 Miami hurricane.
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