Key lime pie is one of America's most famous regional dishes, offered by dozens of restaurants in the Florida Keys and beyond; but the real thing is hard to find.
Key limes are rare. When the groves of southern Florida were destroyed by a hurricane in 1926, they were not replanted because farmers had discovered a better lime to plant - known as the Tahiti lime, which is the big, bright green one sold in every American supermarket today.Tahiti limes taste fine; they are easier to grow and to pick because their skin is thicker and they can be harvested before they are ripe. But they do not have the tart citrus zest of the thin-skinned, pale-yellow Key limes on which original recipes for Key lime pie were based.
Most restaurants that sell "Key lime" pie today are actually selling "Tahiti lime" pie made using the old-fashioned Key lime recipe, which always calls for sweetened condensed milk. The combination of the confectionery-rich milk with the super-tart limes (preferably on board a crumbly-sweet Graham cracker crust) has made this pie a nationwide success since it was first concocted nearly a century ago. It is an utterly simple formula, and to be truthful, it can be made perfectly well with the juice (fresh, please!) from Tahiti limes. They do not have quite the pungent snap of the real and original fruits, but the pie they make is delicious anyway.
The Key limes still grown in South Florida today are found in private groves and on small farms. Manny Ortiz, proprietor (with his wife) of Manny and Isa's restaurant about an hour and a half from Miami, grows his own in a small lot along with mangoes, avocados and sour oranges. He squeezes all the limes himself - about 30 gallons' worth (at 250 limes per gallon) each year, which is enough not only to keep him in pies, but also to provide some leftover juice for the Matecumbe sauce he uses to marinate red snapper.
Before you dig into the authentic and original Key lime pie at Manny and Isa's, you will definitely want to eat a whole meal. This roadside cafe specializes in real Caribbean cooking from the Ortiz's home, Cuba, and from the waters of the Florida Keys. Feast on conch chowder spiced with herbs from a backyard garden, zesty Cuban picadillo, conch fritters and stone crab. And top it all off with a piece of the famous pie.
Now available! Nearly 200 of the most-requested recipes from this column, all in one book, "A Taste of America." It includes Jane and Michael Stern's favorite restaurants, as well as photos from their coast-to-coast eating adventures. Available in paperback, it can be ordered by sending $9.95 plus $1 for postage and handling to Taste of America, in care of the Deseret News, P.O. Box 419150, Kansas City, MO 64141.1990, Jane and Michael Stern
(Universal Press Syndicate)
Key Lime Pie
4 eggs, separated, plus one additional egg white
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup Key lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Green food coloring if desired
1 9-inch Graham cracker pie crust
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Beat egg yolks vigorously until thick and sunny-yellow. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat very slowly, gradually adding lime juice and cream of tartar and - if desired - enough food coloring to make the filling green.
Spoon filling into crust. Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 20 to 30 minutes. Place in freezer and freeze three full hours (or until ready to serve) before topping with meringue.
To make meringue, put egg whites, sugar and salt in mixing bowl that can be set into a larger pan of barely simmering water. Place bowl into pan of warm water, stir gently, and when whites are slightly warm to touch (about 110 degrees), remove bowl from water and beat whites at high speed until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat. Spread meringue on top of frozen pie. Place under broiler (at least 6 inches from heat source) only as long as it takes for meringue to brown, a minute or two. BE VERY CAREFUL: Meringue can burn in just a few seconds. Serve immediately.