Key lime pie is an American dessert pie. It is made of lime, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk. The filling is made similarly to a Magic Lemon cream pie, by simply mixing the ingredients without cooking: the proteins key lime pie the egg yolks and condensed milk and the acidic lime juice curdle, thickening the mixture without baking.

Today, Key lime pies are usually baked to pasteurize the eggs and thicken the filling further. Key lime pie is probably derived from the “Magic Lemon Cream Pie” published in a promotional brochure by Borden, a producer of condensed milk, in 1931. A “Tropical Lime Chiffon Pie”, using condensed milk and egg yolks, is documented in a 1933 Miami newspaper article. An “icebox lime pie”, was mentioned as a specialty of the Florida Keys in 1935. 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. 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. 100 fine to be levied against anyone advertising Key lime pie not made with Key limes. 052, passed in July 2006, designates Key lime pie “the official Florida state pie”. The Key West Lime Pie Cookbook.

Jane Ellison”, New magic in the kitchen: quick, easy recipes made with sweetened condensed milk, p. Lustful Urges and the Original Key Lime Pie Crust”. In Florida, Debate Over Origins of Key Lime Pie Strikes a Nerve”. We all know Key lime pie was invented in the Keys, right? Tart and creamy, key lime pies delight the Florida Keys”.

Once and for All: Key Lime Pie’s New York City Origin Story Disproved”. Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice. The 2020 Florida Statutes”, section 15. Mix with 150g melted butter and press into the base and up the sides of a 22cm loose-based tart tin. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.