World's Largest Key Lime Pie To Be Created At Key West Festival Friday
KEY WEST (CBSMiami/FKNB) - A Key lime pie measuring 9 feet in diameter, that should shatter the record for the world's largest Key lime pie, is to be prepared and served to Independence Day revelers Friday during Key West's Key Lime Festival.
The gargantuan version of the Florida Keys' signature dessert is nearly a foot larger in diameter than a Key lime pie created during the 2013 festival that set a world record certified by the World Record Academy.
Key Lime Festival co-founder David Sloan and his three fellow chefs completed the 2014 Key lime pie, estimated to yield about 1,500 servings, in a massive pie pan constructed for the event.
"The thing that makes Key lime pie perfect for the Fourth of July is {that} there's nothing more American," said Sloan. "Key limes, Key lime pie -- it came from America right here in Key West, Florida, and that's why we celebrate each Fourth of July with our Key lime pie."
The pie's ingredients are to include the juice of 6,480 tiny yellow Key limes, 220 pounds of graham crackers for the crust and 60 gallons of sweetened condensed milk, "cooked" with the traditional souring method to produce a creamy, slightly tart and smooth-textured pie.
Believed to have originated in Key West in the late 1800s, Key lime pie was designated Florida's official pie in 2006 by the state legislature. While preparation methods and some ingredients vary, few people visit the Florida Keys without sampling at least one slice.
The Key Lime Festival continues through Saturday with events including a Key lime pie-eating contest and "Miss Key Lime U.S.A." pageant.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Florida Keys News Bureau contributed to this report.)
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