Key Lime Pie

FOR DECADES, KEY LIME PIE was thought to have originated in the warm subtropics of the country’s most geographically southern state. In his book The Key West Key Lime Pie Cookbook, Key lime pie expert and author David Sloan says the pie’s roots lie with sponge fishermen who snacked on a make-shift citrus treat at sea. He explains that the creamy citrus pie that we have come to love was first created in the 1890s by a woman named “Aunt Sally” who cooked for ship salvager and millionaire William Curry. In recent years some have come to claim this Sunshine State icon actually began as a recipe crafted by the Borden dairy company in New York during the 1930s as a strategy to sell more condensed milk. But, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Floridian, or Southerner for that matter, to defend that theory.

Native to Malaysia, Key lime trees likely arrived in Florida during the 1500s at the hands of the Spanish. Compared to Persian limes that are more common on supermarket shelves, Key limes are smaller (about the size of a golf ball) with a thinner, yellow-tinted skin. They’re also more acidic and juicier, with a signature tart flavor. Combined with eggs and creamy condensed milk and baked in a graham cracker crust,