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Key
Lime Pie has a nice contrast of textures and flavors. A sweet yet grainy
graham cracker crust, a creamy yet tangy lime flavored filling, topped with
soft and fluffy whipped cream. As its name implies, Key Lime Pie was first
made in the Florida Keys, which is also where Key limes are grown. John
Mariani in 'The Dictionary of American Food and Drink' tells us "that the
recipe developed with the advent of sweetened condensed milk in 1856".
Although the first Key lime
pies were made with a pastry crust, many recipes, including this one, now
use a graham cracker crust. It is, by far,
the simplest of all the pie crusts. Just graham cracker crumbs, a little
sugar, and melted butter are needed. If you have trouble getting the
right consistency of crumbs to butter, there
is a test. Once you have mixed the ingredients together, squeeze a little
in your fist; if the mixture holds together, you have the perfect crust.
Once the crust is made it is simply pressed into a pie pan and placed in
the refrigerator to chill.
Next, the filling. A Key Lime Pie is very similar to a Lemon Meringue Pie,
only instead of using lemons it is made with Key limes. Key limes are
instantly recognizable as they are so much smaller than a regular Persian
lime. In fact, it takes about 18 - 20 Key limes to get 1/2 cup (120 ml) of
juice whereas you need only 3-4 Persian limes to get the same amount of
juice. Key limes are a small, round, hard, yellow and green colored, very acidic fruit that grows in Florida. If
you cannot find Key limes in your area, don't fret, as regular Persian
limes also make an excellent pie. Just do not use bottled Key lime juice,
which has a very harsh flavor. An interesting side note; although the
filling is made with green limes, the color of the baked filling is
actually yellow. The only 'green' you will find is from the flecks of lime
zest. Along with the limes, the
filling contains sweetened condensed milk which is made from whole milk and sugar that are heated until most of the
water has evaporated. It is a thick, sticky and very sweet
mixture that makes a wonderful Key lime filling. Because the filling
also contains egg yolks, we do need to bake the pie until the filling is
set. Once baked and cooled it is topped with softly whipped cream.
Key Lime Pies can
have either a meringue or a whipped cream topping. I prefer whipped cream
which is made from the cream (fat) that
rises to the top of whole milk. It has a smooth, satiny texture and is
labeled according to its butterfat content (heavy to light). The best
cream to use for this pie is "Heavy" Cream or Heavy "Whipping" Cream which
means it has a 36 - 40% butterfat that will double in volume when whipped
and hold its form. Because of its superior flavor, I recommend using an
organic brand of heavy whipping cream.
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