Key Lime Pie Bakery / Key West, Florida

 Anytime I'm in Key West, a visit to the Key Lime Pie Bakery is a must. (I'll confess, sometimes even multiple visits in the same day.)

The Key Lime Pie Bakery is a charming little bakery shop, located on Greene Street just a short walk from Mallory Square and Sunset Pier. 

It's known for being the "original," and they take great pride in this statement --- as you can see from the sign at the entrance declaring this bakery the birthplace of Key Lime Pie in 1856. 

So, what exactly is the history of this famous tropical pie?

According to local legend, the main ingredient was brought to the Florida Keys by explorer Christopher Columbus. On his second voyage to the Americas in 1493, he was said to have planted Key lime trees in Haiti. In the 1800s, when immigrants from Haiti and the Bahamas came to the islands of Florida, they brought their beloved Key limes and planted their own trees. 

Fast forward to 1856, when a woman by the name of Gail Borden invented sweetened condensed milk, which was a godsend to the residents of Florida's tropical climate where cows and dairy products were scarce due to the area's isolation and the lack of refrigeration. Canned condensed milk became an essential household item. 

While the town of Key West claims that their is no official documentation of who made the original pie (even though Key Lime Pie Bakery seems to know better), it's believed that the first Key lime pies were baked in Key West by the thrifty and frugal wives of the conchs. 

And now you're wondering, what is a conch? Conch is a term used to describe the people who came to Key West and made the island their home. Even to this day, someone born in Key West is still referred to as a conch. 

The pies are made fresh daily here at the Key Lime Pie Bakery. How do I know this is true? That's simple, I ordered my slice of Key lime pie and then took a seat at the small bar on the left side of the bakery where I watched a woman gracefully move through each step of the pie-making process on the other side of the clear plexiglass wall. 

Pouring the fresh lime juice. 

Blending the ingredients into creamy yellow goodness. 

Filling the pie shells with that creamy goodness and then placing them one-by-one into the large refrigeration unit. 

Adding the perfectly shaped dollops of whipped topping on the finished pies, with a zest of shaved lime. 

Minutes later, I found myself fighting the urge to go back to the counter for a second slice. (Luckily, I was able to resist that urge, for at least a few hours.)

 

The next morning, I was back at Key Lime Pie Bakery for my third slice of pie, which I enjoyed while sitting on the bench outside of the bakery with the company of two wild bantam roosters who remained nearby to make sure I didn't drop any crumbs.