“They say nothing is more American than apple pie,” observed David Sloan, author of The Key Lime Pie Cookbook, “but apple pie is from England. Hot dogs are German. Nothing is more American than Key Lime Pie.”
It’s a southern gem – a cool, tangy mix of sweetened condensed milk, egg yolks, and key lime juice in a graham cracker crust topped with whipped cream or meringue.
No one knows for sure who and when Key Lime pie was invented. The legends are as yummy as the pie.
Eric Barton, in Flamingo, maintained that it was a practical solution for Key West, Florida Spongers (sponge fishermen) in the 1800s. Days were long, work was hard, and they were often at sea for extended periods of time. There was a constant need to battle scurvy so the fishermen carried limes with them. They took their slim rations – Key West limes, sugar, eggs, canned milk, soda crackers, and bread and got creative – mixing lime juice and sweetened condensed milk, “sometimes with wild bird or sea turtle eggs.” The mixture was poured over stale bread or crackers and left in the sun to bake.
The sponges were sold at Key West markets (see below) while wives at home refined the recipe. They baked it in a crust and called it “hooker pie or simply lime pie.” Hooker was slang for spongers.
Wikimedia Commons
Now you’re cooking.
Others give credit to the infamous Aunt Sally. There’s no written proof that she ever existed. Legend claims that William Curry, Florida’s first self-made millionaire, was a businessman in the 1800s. He was born in the Bahamas and immigrated to Key West at age 16, hoping to build a fortune. He developed an empire of merchandising, wrecking, and shipbuilding. With a wife and eight children, Curry built a lavish mansion with a fancy kitchen. The story claims that he employed a local cook named Aunt Sally.
Many food historians believe Aunt Sally invented key lime pie in Curry’s kitchen. Others claim she simply reworked the sponger’s hooker pie. Perhaps she was married to a sponger? Still others argue that it was all fiction.
No one has been able to solve the mystery.
Key limes have their own story. They’re small citrus fruits with thin skin and more intensive flavor. They’re NOT native to Key West . . . they originated in Southeast Asia and spread around the world. Dr. Henry Perrine recognized that the delicious citrus would thrive in the U.S. He shipped plants and seeds to the Florida Keys in 1835. David Sloan wrote in KeysWeekly that “they were first used by sailors and local cooks, paving the way for the lime to blossom into a commercial crop.” The demand for Key West limes (see below) was huge – until the Great 1926 Miami Hurricane devastated the crops. Big money stepped in with larger and hardier Persian Limes.
There are other legends that contradict spongers, Aunt Sally, and hurricanes. Naysayers believe it came from New York City where the Borden Company was trying to sell canned condensed milk. Wikipedia claims it evolved from the “magic lemon cream pie” created by the fictional character Jane Ellison. They argue that Aunt Sally’s story was a promotion when the Curry mansion became a bed-and-breakfast.
Aunt Sally would be horrified.
Choose your story. Keep in mind that in July, 2006 the Florida legislature made Key Lime Pie “the official Florida State Pie.”
Today you can buy Key Lime fresh, frozen, canned, bottled juice, protein bars, fruit bars, cupcakes, tarts, and ice cream. There are hundreds of cookbooks and mysteries like Key Lime Murder by Hannah Swensen and Key Lime Perjury by Addison Moore. Get Key Lime tee-shirts, headbands, hoodies, costumes . . . just about anything you can imagine.
If all else fails, check out the world’s largest Key Lime pie made in the Florida Keys, measuring over 13 feet. It took 16 gallons of Key Lime juice, 60 gallons of sweetened condensed milk, and 125 pounds of graham crackers. People scooped their “slices” into cups.
Do you still believe that Key Lime pie was invented in New York or Aunt Sally wasn’t real? How about spongers and Bordon’s Jane Ellison? Test the legends when you buy a slice or a pie from a bakery or restaurant. Perhaps make your own.
The taste is legendary. Enjoy!
Trip Gazer, Wikimedia Commons
Wonderful, as always! It’s amazing that you write about all of my favorite foods… Seriously! One might argue that what you write about is everyone’s favorite foods but I actually know people who are not all that keen on Keylime pie, nor lemon meringue, nor some others you have written about. I on the other hand I am enthusiastically nuts about every food you’ve written about. Keylime pie is no exception, and I have always wondered about the origin of the name and the product. At least I now know some of the possible options,but I also like your suggestion to make up my own legend. Maybe eating the pie is the key to happiness? Thanks again for another great article!