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Where did Key Limes
come from? Native to Southeast Asia, Spanish
explorers brought the tree that would be known as the Key
Lime tree to the Florida Keys from their travels in the
Mediterranean, and the discovery of Key Lime Pie was just a
matter of time! Sadly, a hurricane in 1928 destroyed
most of the Key Lime groves in Florida, and commercial
growers replanted a lime that was easier to harvest, the
Persian Limes. Authentic Key Limes continue to
be grown by enthusiasts throughout the region, and are
widely imported from Mexico.
What makes a Key Lime
different? A Key Lime is small, about
an inch or two in diameter, and its peel is
yellow when ripe and thinner than a regular
lime. Most of the "key limes" you find in
grocery stores are actually Key Limes that have
been harvested when still green, or, more
likely, Persian Limes.
Genuine Key Limes imported from Mexico are
also available in produce markets in many areas.
 What is
the history of Key Lime Pie? Due to
the lack of refrigeration in Florida, the use of
canned milk was very popular in the late 1800s.
Cooks in the Keys found that when sweetened
condensed milk was mixed with Key Lime juice,
the mixture would thicken and set into a tasty
desert. Original Key Lime Pie recipes
called for no baking at all. Due to
concerns about eating uncooked eggs, today's Key
Lime Pie recipes bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
This also helps to set and thicken the filling
better than the no-bake method. Original
Key Lime Pies were often made in pre-baked
traditional pie crusts, and served with a
meringue topping. |
