Key lime pie

Key lime pie is a pie with a creamy filling made from Key lime juice, condensed milk and egg yolks, on a crust of crushed cookies and butter, and topped with meringue or whipped cream. The filling is yellowish, a color that comes from the yolks; green pies do not follow the traditional recipe.

The Key lime, traditionally grown in the Florida Keys, is smaller, rounder and more acidic than the common supermarket lime, and turns yellow when ripe. In old recipes, the acidity of the juice was what set the filling, without an oven or refrigeration.

According to the Florida Keys tourism authority, most people believe the pie originated in Key West in the late 19th century, before refrigeration and the railroad brought fresh milk to the islands, which explains the use of condensed milk. A local version credits the first pie to Aunt Sally, cook for merchant William Curry. Historian Tom Hambright, of Key West, suggests she may have refined a sweet created by local fishermen. There is also a theory linking the recipe to New York, disputed by Key West researchers. The exact date and author are not known.

Since 2006, a state law makes Key lime pie the official pie of Florida.

The topping divides opinion: meringue, which uses the leftover whites, or whipped cream. The pie is served chilled, in slices, throughout Florida, and Key West, at the southern tip of the islands, is the place most associated with it.