Editing Key lime pie

{{Short description|American custard pie}}
{{other uses|Key Lime Pie (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Key lime pie
| image            = Keylimepiecut.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = Cut-away view of a Key lime pie
| alternate_name   = 
| country          = [[United States]]
| region           = [[Key West, Florida]]
| creator          = 
| course           = [[Dessert]]
| type             = [[Pie]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = Graham cracker crust, [[Key lime]] juice, [[egg yolk]]s, sweetened [[condensed milk]]
| variations       = 
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}

'''Key lime pie''' is an [[American dessert pie]]. It is made of [[Key lime]] juice, [[egg yolk]]s, and [[sweetened condensed milk]]. It may be served with no topping, with a [[meringue]] topping made from egg whites,<ref name="Conch Cooking, L.P. Artman, Jr., August 1975 Florida Keys Printing & Publishing, page 74">{{cite book |title = Conch Cooking |first = L.P. Jr. |last = Artman |date = August 1975 |publisher = Florida Keys Printing & Publishing |page = 74 }}</ref> or with [[whipped cream]]. Traditionally, Key lime pie is made using a [[graham cracker crust]]. It may be made with or without baking in a [[Crust (baking)|pie crust]] or without crust.<ref name="sloan">{{cite book |first = David L. |last = Sloan |title = The Key West Lime Pie Cookbook |year = 2013 |publisher = Self-published |isbn = 978-1499621860 |page =  14 }}</ref> The dish is named after the small [[Key lime]]s, which are more aromatic than the common Persian limes, and which have yellow juice. The filling in a Key lime pie is typically yellow because of the egg yolks.<ref name="Conch Cooking, L.P. Artman, Jr., August 1975 Florida Keys Printing & Publishing, page 74"/>

The 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.

==History==
[[File:Slice of key lime pie, July 2007.jpg|thumb|Key lime pie]]
Key lime pie is probably derived from the "Magic Lemon [[Cream Pie]]" published in a promotional brochure by [[Borden (company)|Borden]], a producer of condensed milk, in 1931.<ref name="parks">{{cite book |first = Stella |last = Parks |title = BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts |year = 2017 |isbn = 978-0393634273 |pages = 171–173 |publisher = W. W. Norton & Company }}</ref> The recipe is attributed to Borden's fictional spokesperson, [[Jane Ellison (Borden)|Jane Ellison]], and includes condensed milk, lemon juice and rind, and egg yolks. It is covered with meringue, baked, and served cold.<ref name="ellison">"Jane Ellison", ''New magic in the kitchen: quick, easy recipes made with sweetened condensed milk'', [http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/cdm/ref/collection/HENP/id/9415 p. 27]</ref> According to the 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".<ref name="parks"/> In the 1980s, food writer [[John Egerton (journalist)|John Egerton]] dated the presence of key lime pie in the [[Florida Keys]] to at least the 1890s, a dating author [[Jean Anderson (cookbook author)|Jean Anderson]] characterized as credible due to nature of refrigeration standards of the time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Jean |author-link=Jean Anderson (cookbook author) |title=The American Century Cookbook |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group|Clarkson Potter]] |year=1997 |isbn=0-517-70576-1 |location=New York |pages=377}}</ref>

A "Tropical Lime Chiffon Pie", using condensed milk and egg yolks, is documented in a 1933 [[Miami]] newspaper article.<ref name="mh33">{{cite news |title = Tropical Lime Chiffon Pie |work = Miami Herald |date = April 15, 1933 |page = 14}} Quoted in {{cite news |first = David |last = Sloan |title = Lustful Urges and the Original Key Lime Pie Crust |work = Keys Weekly |url = https://keysweekly.com/42/lustful-urges-and-the-original-key-lime-pie-crust/ |date = June 6, 2019 }}</ref> An "icebox lime pie", was mentioned as a specialty of the Florida Keys in 1935.<ref>''Highway Traveler''{{full citation needed|date=August 2020}}</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=June 2020}} and a recipe under the name "Key Lime Pie" was published in 1940.<ref>June Brown, Buffalo, New York{{full citation needed|date=August 2020}}</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=June 2020}}

No earlier solid sources are known, despite appeals to the public.<ref>{{cite news |first = Elizabeth |last = Sherman |title = In Florida, Debate Over Origins of Key Lime Pie Strikes a Nerve |work = Food & Wine |url = https://www.foodandwine.com/news/key-lime-pie-origins-debate-stella-parks-bravetart |date = July 31, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="mh18">{{cite news |first = Gwen |last = Filosa |title = We all know Key lime pie was invented in the Keys, right? Seems not everyone agrees |work = Miami Herald |url = https://www.miamiherald.com/living/food-drink/article215758680.html |date = July 31, 2018 |orig-year = updated August 6, 2018 }}</ref> A 1927 Key West Women's Club cookbook does not mention the recipe.<ref>{{cite news |first = Coralie |last = Carlson |title = Tart and creamy, key lime pies delight the Florida Keys |work = Glasgow Daily Times |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120427075545/http://glasgowdailytimes.com/food/x211911403/Tart-and-creamy-key-lime-pies-delight-the-Florida-Keys#selection-983.0-983.55 |url = http://glasgowdailytimes.com/food/x211911403/Tart-and-creamy-key-lime-pies-delight-the-Florida-Keys#selection-983.0-983.55 |archive-date = April 27, 2012 |date = June 11, 2008 }}</ref> A 1926 restaurant menu includes "lime pie", but it is unclear what it was. Various accounts claim that it was known earlier, but none were recorded before 1933.<ref>{{cite news |first = David |last = Sloan |title = Once and for All: Key Lime Pie's New York City Origin Story Disproved |work = Keys Weekly |url = https://keysweekly.com/42/once-and-for-all-key-lime-pies-new-york-city-origin-story-disproved/ |date = October 4, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="mh18"/> A widely reported story claims that [[William Curry (millionaire)|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.<ref name="parks"/>

[[File:KeyLimePiePic1.png|thumb|Key lime pie in Naples, FL]]

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."<ref name="parks"/>

==Key limes==
{{main|Key lime}}
[[File:Key lime (Citrus × aurantiifolia) - DSC09279.jpg|thumb|Key limes]]
Key lime (''[[Citrus aurantifolia]]'' 'Swingle') is naturalized throughout the [[Florida Keys]]. While the tree's thorns make harvesting them less tractable, and the fruit's thin, yellow rind is more perishable than the common [[Persian lime]]s seen year-round at grocery stores in the United States, Key limes are both more tart and more aromatic. They have not been grown commercially in the U.S. since the [[1926 Miami hurricane]], and are generally imported from Central or South America.<ref name="parks"/><ref name="nj">{{cite web |title = Our Story |publisher = Nellie & Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice |url = https://keylimejuice.com/story/# |quote = Key Limes for commercial use have not been grown in the Keys for many years }}</ref> Key lime juice, unlike regular lime juice, is a pale yellow.   Bottled Key lime juice, invariably from concentrate, is widely available at retail in the United States.<ref name="nj"/>

==Legislation==

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.<ref>Eden Entertainment Limited, ''True Secrets of Key West Revealed!'', 3rd edition, 2011, {{isbn|9781458350930}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvEAAwAAQBAJ&dq=bernie+papy+%22key+lime%22+pie+1965&pg=PA49 p. 49]</ref>

Florida statute 15.052, passed in July 2006, designates Key lime pie "the [[state pie#Florida|official Florida state pie]]".<ref>"The 2020 Florida Statutes", [http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0015/Sections/0015.052.html section 15.052]</ref><ref>{{Cite web| title=SB 676 - Official State Pie/Key Lime| url=http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=32043| access-date=August 14, 2006}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
In the television series ''[[Dexter (TV series)|Dexter]]'', key lime pie features significantly in the episode "[[Easy as Pie (Dexter)|Easy As Pie]]", in which Camilla Figg tasks Dexter to bring her the "perfect key lime pie."<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242120/plotsummary/ |title="Dexter" Easy As Pie (TV Episode 2008) - Plot - IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2024-05-20 |via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Food}}
*[[Cream pie]]
*[[Lemon meringue pie]]
*[[Lemon pie]]
*[[Lime (fruit)|Lime]]
*[[Pavlova (food)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Key lime pies}}

{{American pies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key Lime Pie}}
[[Category:American pies]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Southern United States]]
[[Category:Fruit pies]]
[[Category:Florida cuisine]]
[[Category:Culture of Key West, Florida]]
[[Category:Citrus dishes]]
[[Category:Limes (fruit)]]
[[Category:Symbols of Florida]]