How do key limes differ from common Persian limes?

They are smaller and more aromatic

What thickens the filling, even without much baking?

Lime acid reacting with condensed milk and egg yolks

Who is often credited in Key West legend with creating the pie?

Aunt Sally, cook for William Curry

Key Lime Pie Quiz: Florida's Official State Pie

Before refrigerators and fresh milk reached the Florida Keys, cooks relied on canned sweetened condensed milk, and this key lime pie quiz explains how that shaped a classic. Play 10 interactive questions on key limes, egg yolks, graham cracker crusts, meringue versus whipped cream, Aunt Sally, Key West and the 2006 law naming it Florida's official pie.

Start Key Lime Pie Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Official
In which year did Florida make key lime pie its official state pie?
Color
What color is a traditional key lime pie filling?
Milk
Why did Keys cooks use sweetened condensed milk?
Fruit
How do key limes differ from common Persian limes?
Set
What thickens the filling, even without much baking?
Crust
Which crust is most common today?
Topping
Which two toppings do fans argue about?
Sally
Who is often credited in Key West legend with creating the pie?
City
Which city is most associated with key lime pie?
Highway
Which road, finished in 1938, connected the Keys to the mainland by car?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: In which year did Florida make key lime pie its official state pie?
Answer: 2006
The legislature passed the law after long debate.
Q2: What color is a traditional key lime pie filling?
Answer: Pale yellow
Green pies usually contain food coloring.
Q3: Why did Keys cooks use sweetened condensed milk?
Answer: Fresh milk and refrigeration were scarce
Canned milk kept well in the hot, isolated Keys.
Q4: How do key limes differ from common Persian limes?
Answer: They are smaller and more aromatic
Key limes are tart, fragrant and turn yellow when ripe.
Q5: What thickens the filling, even without much baking?
Answer: Lime acid reacting with condensed milk and egg yolks
The acid causes the proteins to thicken.
Q6: Which crust is most common today?
Answer: Graham cracker
Early versions often used pastry crusts.
Q7: Which two toppings do fans argue about?
Answer: Meringue or whipped cream
Both are traditional in different kitchens.
Q8: Who is often credited in Key West legend with creating the pie?
Answer: Aunt Sally, cook for William Curry
The story links the pie to the 1890s.
Q9: Which city is most associated with key lime pie?
Answer: Key West
Shops there sell it frozen and on a stick.
Q10: Which road, finished in 1938, connected the Keys to the mainland by car?
Answer: The Overseas Highway
Before it, the Keys were reached by boat or railroad.

Key Lime Pie Quiz – Florida's Official Pie

Key lime pie is made from key lime juice, egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk, usually in a graham cracker crust. Florida named it the official state pie in 2006.

Cooks in the Florida Keys used canned condensed milk because fresh milk and refrigeration were scarce. The acid in key lime juice thickens the milk and yolks, and the real filling is pale yellow, not green.

Key West legend credits Aunt Sally, cook for wealthy William Curry, with creating the pie in the 1890s, though historians debate its origins. Fans still argue over meringue versus whipped cream.

What This Quiz Teaches

Dessert lovers and Florida fans will enjoy these questions.

What goes into the pie
Why condensed milk is used
What color it should be
Where it comes from
How it became official

Did You Know?

Key limes are also called Mexican limes.
Frozen key lime pie on a stick is a Key West treat.
Some recipes skip baking entirely.
Bottled key lime juice is widely sold.
National Key Lime Pie Day is September 26.