Key lime pie is a favorite all over the south – not just Florida.
Many restaurants on Hilton Head Island serve this desert. The Salty Dog Cafe, One Hot Mama’s and Red Fish are fan favorites, according to visitors and locals.
Here’s a recipe for key lime pie tastes every bit as authentic as the real deal — plus it’s easier to make.
Ingredients:
- 9” graham cracker pie crust
- 3 egg yolks
- 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup Key lime juice
- Whipped cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350˚. Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Top with whipped cream before serving.
History of Key Lime Pie
Key West, Florida, is famous for its fabulous Key Lime pie, one of America’s best-loved regional dishes.
Aficionados of Key Lime pie argue endlessly about the proper way to make one. Graham-cracker or pastry crust? Meringue on top, whipped cream or neither? Cooked or uncooked filling? The one thing they do agree on is that under no circumstances should you ever add green food coloring. The filling of the authentic pie is a light yellow.
The Key lime tree, which is native to Malaysia, most likely first arrived in the Florida Keys in the 1500s with the Spanish.
Key limes look like confused lemons, as they are smaller than a golf ball with yellow-green skin that is sometimes splotched with brown. They are also known as Mexican or West Indian limes.
When a hurricane in 1926 wiped out the Key lime trees in South Florida, growers replanted with Persian limes, which are easier to pick and to transport. Today, the Key lime tree is almost a phantom and any remaining trees are only found in backyards and their fruit never leaves the Florida Keys. Key limes are also grown for commercial use in the Miami area.
Source: Linda Stradley, whatscookingamerica.net.