When I first tasted Key lime pie in Florida, I didn’t know what hit my taste buds. My friends were right about the taste. I have not stopped enjoying this pie whenever I come to Florida.
Why is Florida known for Key lime pie? The key lime pie was invented in Florida, and the people have made it tastier over the years/
Everyone has come to accept that it was from Key West in Florida that Key lime pie was invented. This is where the key limes needed to grow their popularity.
Why is Florida known for Key lime pie?
The Key lime pie is Florida’s food and the pride of the Keys of Florida. In the 1800s, Key Lime Trees were everywhere in the Keys of Florida. An invention was made when preserving fresh milk or biodegradable items in refrigerators was not common.
Sweetened condensed milk was blended with homegrown Key Lime to produce the delicious dessert, which later became a stable in Key West.
Where this delicious dessert originated and who discovered it is still unknown. Some people believe it was discovered by a fisherman, while others claim it was discovered by one rich man’s cook named Aunt Sally.
However, Aunt Sally made this delicacy popular, and it was told that when she started producing the pie, the news went wild, and everyone wanted to have a slice of it.
This American dessert, key lime pie, is made from graham-cracker or pastry crust, a yellow custard, mainly egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and key lime juice. A whipped cream or meringue is topped as well.
We were told that the sweet and tart pie originated in Key West, Florida, during the 19th century.
The non-availability of refrigerators and fresh milk in the Florida Keys, until the 1930s was why-sweetened condensed milk was used as a major ingredient for producing key lime pie.
The dessert comes in various types. The chocolate-dipped key lime pie is the nontraditional twist to this dessert. It is sold on sticks in Key West.
History of Key Lime Pie
Key lime pie, the 2006 official pie of Florida, is available in all restaurants in the keys of Florida, but the tart key limes are not as common as it is. The tart key limes had grown commercially in the Florida Keys in the past decades.
Presently, its presence is hard to be noticed, probably because of devastating hurricanes and a plant disease known as citrus canker.
Some people still grow these limes privately, even behind their houses, but the ones used for pies production are imported or bottled juice.
There was a Key West sponge fisherman in the 1800s who the locals called the “hookers,” who used to keep limes on board their fishing boat, to guide them against sickness. The lime juice is blended with sweetened condensed milk.
Wild bird or sea turtle eggs are mixed with it sometimes to form the sweet-tangy mixture. This concoction is poured over stale Cuban bread and left in the sun for some time to set.
When the sponge fishermen came home, their wives made a nice delicacy out of it by baking it in a pie crust.
Until the coming of Sarah Jane Lowe Curry, the wife of the first Florida millionaire son, it was the modest dessert of the working-class Floridians.
Sarah Jane Lowe Curry started serving it to her kid visitors. The kids called her Aunt Sally. Sloan said she was the person who found the Key lime pie we know today.
At that time it was called hooker pie or lime pie. Not quite long it was sold at all restaurants and tourist stands in Florida. Sometimes it is served frozen with a stick through it. This makes it convenient for people to munch as they stroll down Duval Street.
Key Lime Pie Recipe
There is no recorded formula for the production of Key lime pie because it had not strict origin. There were so many versions of the delicacy as well. At a time, Sloan researchedKey lime pie and found out it has not less than 150,000 recipes.
If you want it to be less sweet, add less condensed milk. If you want it to be tangier, add more lime. You can add any pie crust of your choice.
Sloan preferred bacon, which makes it almost savory, and jalapeno, which perfectly blends with the lime. There are recipes in Pepe’s Cafe Key West pages that are Sloan’s favorites.
The Key lime pie has influenced many other kinds of food like marinades and cocktails. Sloan said when it comes to adult beverages he preferred the one served at General Horseplay in Key West called Cocktails and Tomfoolery.
A bar co-owner and chief cocktail creator, Tim Rabior said their inability to source lime pie was the reason the Key lime pie was always lacking on their menu.
In his opinion, Rabior said that the Key lime pie should be blended with orgeat, a floral almond syrup to add to its complexity and reduce its sweetness.
Sloan learned about Key lime pie through a dramatic circumstance, just like a scene out of a Carl Hiaasen novel. That was when he was a staff of a hamburger center that self-produced its buns and desserts.
One day the head baker passed out on his way to the oven because he had narcolepsy. He broke both wrists in the process. The center’s owner immediately promoted Sloan to become the head baker, although he does not have breaking experience.
Sloan moved from being an over-the-counter salesman to becoming the head baker. A customer added Key lime pie to their menu shortly after this. He told Sloan it was delicious and very easy to prepare.
Sloan took a tour of the Curry Mansion, where Aunt Sally’s father-in-law lived, which had been declared home to the Key lime pie. That was when he started thinking of a book on the Key lime pie.
He went around the town to make inquiries, and in the process, he discovered no definite origin of Key lime pie. After about 20 years of research, Sloan got evidence to support the story of Aunt Sally he had told in one of the 20 books he wrote.
FAQs
Why is Key lime pie so popular in Florida?
The key lime pie was originally produced as a way of preventing scurvy. It is more American than apple pie. A set of fishermen, known as “hookers” by the locals, existed in the 1800s. They always had limes on board their boats to prevent sickness.
What is Florida’s National pie?
The Florida state Legislature recognized key lime as the official state pie. This is a designation the pie will continue to keep. You can buy the pie from so many outlets all over the keys of Florida. When people eat it they always remember the sun, sand, and tropical breezes.
What dessert is Florida known for?
Strawberry shortcake is the official state dessert of Florida.