We are in Florida! Hmmm, what kind of pie should we seek and eat? Of course, a Key Lime Pie! Key lime pies are served at most restaurants here, so we set out to find the perfect one. We did not have much trouble finding a wide variety of key lime pies on our tasting journeys. These pies are best eaten someplace overlooking water, under a blue sky, surrounded by palm trees, and with Jimmy Buffet serenading in the background.
The basic recipe of this fruit pie recipe is sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and key lime juice. From there you can add egg whites to the filling for a chiffon taste or on top as a meringue. You can also add cream cheese or sour cream for a cheesecake consistency. Key lime pies are typically made in a graham cracker crust, a nut crust, or a pastry crust. They can be made to be served from the refrigerator or frozen. In fact David Sloan, the author of The Ultimate Key Lime Pie Cookbook, notes that when you consider the crust, filling, topping, sauces, and garnishes, there are over 150,000 possible combinations for as many different pies!
Since the key ingredient (yes, pun intended) is key lime juice, we visited the Florida citrus groves in 
central Florida in hopes of finding the freshest and most flavorful limes. Key limes are small and round and best picked when they are soft and yellow. Do not confuse these with Persian limes which are small and green and tend to be less tart than the key lime. Key limes do have that special taste and are the ones you should use to make a key lime pie. If you cannot find the fresh key limes, you can use Nellie & Joe’s bottled lime juice, which can be found in most grocery stores and online. This juice makes a tasty pie, but do note, it is called “Key West lime juice,” and is not necessarily key lime juice.
While visiting the Florida citrus groves, we learned that most of the key lime trees from the Key West area were damaged in a hurricane years ago, and now most of the key limes available in the United States are grown in Mexico. We searched several citrus markets in the area trying to find what we wanted, but only could find the bagged key limes from Mexico which were harvested before they were fully ripe. While they are key limes, they are not Florida key limes!
I make my key lime pie from a recipe I picked up a number of years ago at Policicchio Groves in Merritt 
Island Florida. (See recipe below.) I used to make this pie with key limes from my in-laws’ real key lime tree, but the tree lived out a good life, as did they. I generally use my favorite pastry crust (http://www.artofthepie.com) and do not put the egg whites in or on top of the pie. A grating of lime zest adds to the fresh Florida taste and aroma and gives a nice touch of color. One of the reasons I like this recipe is that it is easy to make with young “helpers.” It is done in 15 minutes and ready to eat after cooling a bit. As my sister told me “the pie finishes like the last brilliant ray of a sunset at Key West! ” So, as it turns out, seeking, eating and making the perfect key lime pie is all about personal preference.
People to meet:
- I like to talk to the owners and sellers in the markets and groves; they are a font of information about local growing conditions.
- It is also fun to talk to the servers at restaurants about the key lime pie you are eating…..just try to pry the recipe from them if you want to have a great conversation!
Places to visit:
- The drive through central Florida is amazing. This area is the winter garden that supplies much of the food for the US. In addition to large groves of oranges and grapefruit, we saw cattle ranches, plant nurseries, vegetables growing in greenhouses under hoops and netting, corn fields and sugar cane (which is Florida’s largest crop.)
- Many groves offer an opportunity to pick the fruit or tour a packing plant: http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/articles/2007/november/747-visit-a-florida-citrus-grove.html
Places to eat key lime pie: We were eating our pies primarily in the Sanibel, Fort Myers, and Fort Myers beach area. 
- We liked the pie at Doc Ford’s Restaurant at Fort Myers best. This pie was tart and light and we paired the pie with a Limetini. http://www.docfordsfortmyersbeach.com
- The Beached Whale on Fort Myers Beach serves a creamy key lime pie topped with raspberry sauce. http://www.thebeachedwhale.com/
- The Mucky Duck on Captiva serves an interesting frozen key lime pie. http://www.muckyduck.com/
- Crust:
- For Pastry crust, use http://www.artofthepie.com this basic crust; pre-bake before filling.
- For Graham cracker crust, choose your favorite recipe.
- Filling:
- 4 egg yokes
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup key lime juice….fresh squeezed is best
- Grated lime rind
- Meringue:
- 4 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2-3 drops of lime juice
- Beat yokes until lemon color. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat lightly. Add lime juice and beat for a minute or two until smooth and thick. Pour mixture into baked pastry shell or graham cracker crust. If not adding the meringue, bake now at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
- If adding the meringue, beat egg whites until stiff. Add cream of tartar and lime juice. Add sugar slowly beating until egg whites are thick and stiff. Swirl on top of filling. Bake 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
