Subject: RECIPE: Key lime pie
From: [email-masked] (John R. Levine)
Date: 29 Jul 88 05:33:54 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.gourmand

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.RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE KEY-LIME-PIE D "3 Jan 88" 1988
.RZ "KEY LIME PIE" "Traditional lime pie dessert from the Florida Keys"
This very easy custard pie originated in the Florida Keys in the 1800's when
fresh ingredients other than the local limes were hard to come by.
See the notes for information on some of the ingredients.
.IH "One 8-inch pie" "One 20-cm pie"
.IG "3" "eggs"
.IG "14 oz" "condensed milk" "400 ml"
(one standard can)
.IG "4 oz" "Key Lime juice" "120 ml"
.IG "" "sugar"
.IG "1" "Graham cracker pie crust"
.PH
.SK 1
Separate the eggs.
You'll be whipping the whites, so put them in a large enough bowl.
.SK 2
Combine the egg yolks, the condensed milk, and the juice, and stir
until thoroughly combined.
The acidity of the juice thickens the milk and eggs into a custard.
.SK 3
Add a pinch of sugar to the egg whites, and beat them until
stiff but not dry.
.SK 4
Spoon the custard into the pie crust and even it out.
.SK 5
Spoon the beaten egg whites on top of the custard and even it out so
it looks pretty.
.SK 6
Chill before serving.
If you like, run the pie under a hot broiler for a minute until the egg
whites are slightly browned.
(This is primarily for appearance, it doesn't affect the flavor much.)
.NX
Everybody in the Florida Keys seems to have a variant of this recipe.
It shows up on postcards, place mats, lime juice bottles, and guide
books.
Some people fold a little of the beaten
egg white into the custard to make it lighter.  Some put sweetened whipped
cream on top rather than egg white.
Some use two or four eggs.
.PP
Traditionally, this pie is made from the juice of the Key lime, a small
yellow citrus fruit quite different from the larger and more familiar
Persian lime.
Key limes are very sensitive to cold and in the U.S. have never been
grown above the very southern tip of Florida.
Bad weather and disease have killed off so many of them that
the only remaining grove is a private one on one of the Keys, so you
cannot buy Key lime juice in the U.S. any more.
Key limes are still grown widely in South America and probably
elsewhere on other continents.
.PP
There is something called "Key West lime juice" sold in pint bottles
which everybody uses instead now, which seems to be regular lime
juice slightly concentrated.
It's widely available in Florida and occasionally elsewhere in the U.S.
It's also available via mail order from Key West Aloe,
telephone +1 305 294 5592 or 800-327-5866.
In a pinch, you can substitute regular lime juice, though it doesn't
produce quite the bright yellow custard that traditionalists like.
You may have to use extra juice, because Persian limes are less
acidic than Key limes.
.SH RATING
.I Difficulty:
easy.
.I Time:
20 minutes preparation, 1\-2 hours chilling.
.I Precision:
approximate measurement OK.
.WR
John Levine
Interactive Systems Corp, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
[email-masked]