Key Lime Pie
November 30, 2007 6:22 AM 
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With few cows, no ice, and lacking refrigeration the only dairy product reliably available to the Florida Keys in the late 18th century was
condensed milk. Add a local plantation abundance of small, sour
key limes (known to most as
West Indian limes; not the more common
Persian/Tahiti lime), and inevitably someone -- perhaps
Aunt Sally -- put them together to create the quintessential
Florida Keys confection known as
key lime pie.
Tart, sweet, and oh so smooth, it is the ideal dessert to nibble on while watching the sun go down on a steamy summer evening. While the Eagle Brand can
recipe is canonical (thank you,
Ms. Borden), a
multitude of
variations exist such as
cheesecake,
tarts,
cookies and ...
mustard? And note that no matter how you take your
pie, there's something
aficionados all agree upon: the
true pie is
pale yellow,
never ever green.
Finally, note that this is not
Key Lime Pie, although that, also, is very tasty.
And what about Mexico? Where did all these meat-based taco-type dishes come from? Would Mexican peasants really have been that profligate with their animals? Maybe meat-based tacos are a recent invention.
posted by DU at 6:28 AM on November 30, 2007