Key Lime Pie

One of America’s most loved regional dishes, key lime pie traces back to Key West, Florida. Here, the small, but aromatic, key limes that give the pie its signature tart-tangy taste, abundantly grow.

The traditional pie filling is a simple concoction of lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Back in the days, the pie was traditionally a no-bake, the filling made simply by mixing the ingredients and letting stand. For culinary whizzes; here a chemical reaction occurs between egg yolk protein, condensed milk and acidic lime juice, where they curdle and thicken into a filling. Fast-forward to today, due to food safety, pies are usually baked for a short time!

Be careful with assumptions – under no, and I mean no, circumstances should green food colouring be added to the mix. The authentic colour is a light dreamy yellow, the colour of key lime juice.

My slice of key lime pie was from a traditional pie shop in California – sweet, but tangy!