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- Path: decwrl!recipes
- From: johnl@ima.ISC.COM (John R. Levine)
- Newsgroups: alt.gourmand
- Subject: RECIPE: Key lime pie
- Message-ID: <14254@decwrl.DEC.COM>
- Date: 29 Jul 88 05:33:54 GMT
- Sender: recipes@decwrl.DEC.COM
- Distribution: alt
- Organization: Interactive Systems Corp, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Lines: 82
- Approved: reid@decwrl.dec.com
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-
- Copyright (C) 1988 USENET Community Trust
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- the USENET Community Trust or the original contributor.
-
- .RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE KEY-LIME-PIE D "3 Jan 88" 1988
- .RZ "KEY LIME PIE" "Traditional lime pie dessert from the Florida Keys"
- This very easy custard pie originated in the Florida Keys in the 1800's when
- fresh ingredients other than the local limes were hard to come by.
- See the notes for information on some of the ingredients.
- .IH "One 8-inch pie" "One 20-cm pie"
- .IG "3" "eggs"
- .IG "14 oz" "condensed milk" "400 ml"
- (one standard can)
- .IG "4 oz" "Key Lime juice" "120 ml"
- .IG "" "sugar"
- .IG "1" "Graham cracker pie crust"
- .PH
- .SK 1
- Separate the eggs.
- You'll be whipping the whites, so put them in a large enough bowl.
- .SK 2
- Combine the egg yolks, the condensed milk, and the juice, and stir
- until thoroughly combined.
- The acidity of the juice thickens the milk and eggs into a custard.
- .SK 3
- Add a pinch of sugar to the egg whites, and beat them until
- stiff but not dry.
- .SK 4
- Spoon the custard into the pie crust and even it out.
- .SK 5
- Spoon the beaten egg whites on top of the custard and even it out so
- it looks pretty.
- .SK 6
- Chill before serving.
- If you like, run the pie under a hot broiler for a minute until the egg
- whites are slightly browned.
- (This is primarily for appearance, it doesn't affect the flavor much.)
- .NX
- Everybody in the Florida Keys seems to have a variant of this recipe.
- It shows up on postcards, place mats, lime juice bottles, and guide
- books.
- Some people fold a little of the beaten
- egg white into the custard to make it lighter. Some put sweetened whipped
- cream on top rather than egg white.
- Some use two or four eggs.
- .PP
- Traditionally, this pie is made from the juice of the Key lime, a small
- yellow citrus fruit quite different from the larger and more familiar
- Persian lime.
- Key limes are very sensitive to cold and in the U.S. have never been
- grown above the very southern tip of Florida.
- Bad weather and disease have killed off so many of them that
- the only remaining grove is a private one on one of the Keys, so you
- cannot buy Key lime juice in the U.S. any more.
- Key limes are still grown widely in South America and probably
- elsewhere on other continents.
- .PP
- There is something called "Key West lime juice" sold in pint bottles
- which everybody uses instead now, which seems to be regular lime
- juice slightly concentrated.
- It's widely available in Florida and occasionally elsewhere in the U.S.
- It's also available via mail order from Key West Aloe,
- telephone +1 305 294 5592 or 800-327-5866.
- In a pinch, you can substitute regular lime juice, though it doesn't
- produce quite the bright yellow custard that traditionalists like.
- You may have to use extra juice, because Persian limes are less
- acidic than Key limes.
- .SH RATING
- .I Difficulty:
- easy.
- .I Time:
- 20 minutes preparation, 1\-2 hours chilling.
- .I Precision:
- approximate measurement OK.
- .WR
- John Levine
- Interactive Systems Corp, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- johnl@ima.isc.com
-