Welcome To Key Lime Country

Key West Famous For Tasty Delights

During your next stay in Key West, Florida, make sure to sample some of Chef Kermit Carpenter's sweet sweet key lime pie.

Key West is widely known for its quirks, island beauty and as a refuge for the free of spirit. Why, it even tried to secede from America in 1982. But one of its more unusual accomplishments is that toothsome delight, Key Lime Pie on a Stick.

Never heard of it? Just ask the King of Everything Key Lime, that is if you can lure Kermit in from his usual station outside his shop on Elizabeth Street where he's apt to lie in wait for the trolley tours that chug by. As one passes, he flings a whipped cream-topped pie at the goggle-eyed tourists hanging out the windows.

It's all in fun as the pie is a plastic replica and Kermit Carpenter's friendly face, topped by a bright green chef's hat tilted at a jaunty angle, welcomes--rather than frightens--people away. And you can bet those folk, enjoying a guided ramble through Key West, Florida's scenic Old Town, will be back for a visit once their tour is over. Few can resist the 150 lime-inspired products of the Key West Key Lime Shoppe nor the lively character who runs it.

Kermit opened his shop in 1991 (recently renovated and expanded) and has added three new stores in other parts of Florida. But it was in Key West he decided to settle after 20 years as a buyer for a Washington, D.C. department store, first arriving on holiday in 1970. "I just fell in love with the place and finally moved here in 1980." The dapper entrepreneur's round rosy face beams and a gentle smile curves up below a trim white mustache.

I ask about the origin of the quest that has brought me here. I want to know all about that intriguing Key Lime Pie on a Stick. "It all started about 13 years ago. The owners of a candy store in town---they're not here anymore---heard about cheesecake being dipped in chocolate and sold by the slice in California. They thought it was a great idea and might apply to wedges of key lime pie. Others in the area began to think it was a good idea too."

Soon Kermit and his fellow lime enthusiasts perfected the art of taking a genuine slice of key lime pie---graham cracker crust and all--dipping it in chocolate, and securing it on a stick.

Kermit taps my hand to make a point. "I only use Belgian chocolate and that makes mine different from some others."

Pride shines in his eyes, as well it should. Not only is his delectable Key Lime Pie on a Stick popular, but also so are a host of products that have made him the darling of television talk shows. In the past few years, he has been featured on the Travel Channel's "Taste of America," the Food Network's "Unwrapped," and the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.

A font of knowledge about all things key lime, he shared with Marc Summers, host of "Unwrapped," the fact that Cleopatra was famous for using key limes in her bath.

Who knew?

If you visit Kermit's colorful and voluminous Web site, you find a lot of pithy key lime lore. For instance, the high acid content of key lime juice cooks the pie's milk and eggs so there's no need to bake it (though today, because of the risk of salmonella, it's recommended you bake your pie).

My favorite Kermit gem answers the question: What will happen if you add green coloring to your ingredients? "Besides the color, everyone will know it isn't an authentic key lime pie and they may talk or laugh about it behind your back. Big NO NO!"

Kermit and other authorities swear Key West's famous dessert should always be a creamy pale yellow color--never green. For, real key limes are more yellow in hue and Ping-Pong-ball sized; they're also tarter than the larger dark green Persian limes you usually find in your grocery store. Disease and weather wiped out lime groves in the Keys years ago though the odd tree can still be found around town. Indeed, one stands outside Kermit's shop in all its' thorny splendor.

The key lime is also known as the Mexican lime and Kermit, as well as others in the know, import all their fruit from south of the border. "They grow only limes not lemons in Mexico and Central and South America, so there's an abundant supply," said Kermit.

I did some digging, though Kermit undoubtedly had this information at his fingertips, and discovered the key lime pie was probably created in Key West by Bahamian immigrants who arrived over 100 years ago. Because there were no cows nor refrigeration at the time, canned sweetened condensed milk was used in the confectionâ first brought in by ship, then via Henry Flagler's railway starting in 1913, and finally by road. In addition, it was handy that the high acid content in the key lime juice "cooked" the pie without the need for an oven.

Locals, referred to as "Conchs," get into knock-down, drag-out fights about the finer points of the key lime pie: should you add eggs or not, baked or no, whipped cream or meringue on top, graham cracker or pastry crust. Good grief, tempers flair! But most agree that the real deal should be made with key limes not the Persian variety; it should be pale yellow in color; and sweetened condensed milk is a must ingredient. And you can buy a darn good key lime pie at Kermit's. Generous with his knowledge, he also publishes the recipe on his Web site. In fact, rafts of Kermit's recipes appear on the site covering everything from a Key Lime Martini and Gazpacho with Key Lime, to Key West Chili and Key West PBJ (using Kermit's Key Lime Mango Chutney in place of the usual jelly). There's a tasting bar inside the shop where you can sample his wares to see if they appeal. Taste treats include Kermit's Key Lime White Chocolate Chip Cookies and Key Lime Ginger Wasabi Marinade & Dipping Sauce. And don't forget to slather on some of his key lime-inspired bath and body products.

Kermit takes me back into the test kitchen behind a lush foliage-filled garden, where visitors can rest and enjoy a key lime whatever, and introduces me to one of his creations.

He steps into a stainless steel walk-in freezer and returns with a tray upon which reside golf-ball size, chocolate-covered rounds with tooth picks sticking up out of their centers.

"On Saturdays," he tells me, "a walking tour meanders through Key West and visits five places known for local food specialties. I'm dessert!"

Indeed, the imaginative Taste of Key West Walking Tours, 2 ½ hours in length, explore historic spots in Key West's Old Town area as well as eateries featuring such delicacies as conch fritters and mahi-mahi fingers, winding up on Kermit's doorstep where he offers tourists this delicious delight--Key Lime Oreo Bonbons.

The green-hatted chef lets me have a sample and my fingers reach eagerly for the cold treat. Oh my word! This is truly delicious and I try and figure out how I can gracefully convince him I need to sample a few dozen more---in the name of research.

But finally, finally! Kermit, knowing why I'm here, leads me back into his shop and over to the freezer that is filled to overflowing with Chocolate Dipped Key Lime Pies on a Stick. He deftly unwraps one and places it in my outstretched hand.

It really is shaped like a slice of pie; possesses all the tart-sweet lime-infused custard and graham-cracker crust wonderfulness that key lime pie promises; yet is covered in that special cold Belgian chocolate sheath that makes it absolutely...Wow!

If You Go

Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe - www.keylimeshop.com

Another Key West key lime pie emporium, which produces Key Lime Pie on a Stick: Blond Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory - www.blondgiraffe.com

Taste of Key West Walking Tours - www.keywestwalkingtours.com

The Florida Keys & Key West - www.fla-keys.com