“Frozen Important Lime Pie recipe?” Fern Butters requested. “Kid, I’ll take that mystery with me to the grave.”
Fern Butters’ frozen critical lime pie was legend. Just about every time President Harry S Truman went by Islamorada on Upper Matecumbe Vital on his way to the “Little White Property” in Essential West, he stopped. More precisely, he
stopped at Fern Inn for some of Fern Butters’ frozen vital lime pie.
And so did other folks, commoners and dignitaries alike-Papa Hemingway, Cordell Hull, Douglas Fairbanks, Julia Boy or girl . And me.
I failed to see any of those people well-known folks. Except Julia Youngster. And I failed to know who she was. Ignorance of youth.
But I did eat Mrs. Butters’ frozen important lime pie.
I was not a child when I questioned her about the recipe. I had recipes for my grandmother’s compressed fruit cake. And my grandfather’s elderberry wine. And a passel of others I would gathered from close to and much. So I believed her recipe would fit appropriate in with my assortment.
Not so. I was a youthful pastor at her minor church in Matecumbe. But I could have been Gabriel himself.
And could by no means get that closely guarded solution.
A lot of experienced experimented with to replicate her recipe, but without the need of achievements. I observed Julia Kid at the time test to wheedle the recipe from Fern Butters with no achievements. I listened to she tied to duplicate the recipe-once again, no achievements.
Of course, that could just be a legend. It truly is plausible. Absolutely everyone who at any time ate her frozen essential lime pie coveted the recipe.
Well, Fern is now dead. The Fern Inn has improved names. Fern took the recipe to the grave with her.
But, not long ago her daughter referred to as me up. She mentioned that just after all these decades she was going via her mother’s letters and things and making an attempt to cleanse out an previous dresser drawer packed with outdated letters and notes.
She arrived throughout an envelope with my name on it. She desired to know if I have been the identical preacher that served the very little church down in Matecumbe.
This was a weird party. I experienced moved to Wisconsin serving churches there for several years. When I returned to South Florida, I was a professor in a college or university for 33 a long time. I retired from the college and served a church in North Miami Seashore for 13 years. I retired yet again. Then answered a desperation call to provide as chaplain at a retirement local community. I just happened to be in the place wherever Fern Butters’ daughter could get hold of me.
She despatched me the envelope, now yellow with age. Fern had been dead for some 40 or so years. I opened the envelope. The notice examine:
This is what you questioned for. Use it properly.
And there was the recipe!
Now I’ve wondered what to do with this recipe. I could, of course, just publish it. Or I could write a e book about my times as a younger pastor among the Keys Conchs, as the folks there identified as on their own. I could possibly even promote it [How long would that last!?]
But I’ve decided to give it absent. I’m not even likely to swear the recipients to secrecy. I’m just heading to give it to people who have a like for strange recipes and for historic recipes. I have a buddy from North Carolina, for case in point, whose family members has a recipe for pumpkin soup handed down due to the fact pioneer times.
And then there is my good friend from Females Island in Beaufort County South Carolina. She promises her ancestors established Frogmore Stew.
You will find an aunt in Western Maryland suggests she will give me the recipe for “Puddin’,” a meat product that’s out of this globe when used on pancakes. I’ve no thought what the substances are, but I extended to locate out.
People that are interested in these kinds of recipe and are inclined to share their very own favorites are invited to subscribe at no price to COOKIN’ Fantastic E-newsletter at http://www.cookin-good.com/.
Not only will subscribers get a duplicate of Fern Butters’ frozen crucial lime pie recipe, but will also receive a month-to-month situation of the publication at no charge. Everyone is invited to mail their possess special recipes.
And invite your close friends to subscribe. They’re going to love you for telling them about it.
But for people who are merely curious about the recipe, for these who do not want to check out the web internet site, for all those who will not brain missing out on all the wonderful functions observed in Cookin’ Very good Gazette, here is the recipe.
With Fern’s solution ingredient [forgive me, Fern!].
Mrs. Butters’ Magic formula
Key Lime Pie Recipe
Substances
1 Cup sweetened condensed milk
6 egg yolks [save whites]
½ Cup critical lime juice [genuine key lime]
6 egg whites [I told you to save them!]
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
1 Cup sugar
1 graham cracker pie crust [preferred-regular crust permissible]
½ pint key component
Technique
Filling
Incorporate yolks to condensed milk and defeat 8 minutes
Include solution component and defeat until finally perfectly combined
Increase essential lime juice and blend properly
Fold into pie shell
Area in freezer until eventually well established. Hold unused part in the freezer for up to a week [if it lasts that long!]
Topping
While pie sets defeat 6 egg whites with product of tartar for 5 minutes.
Include 1 cup of sugar and whip until finally meringue would make peaks when beater is taken out from mixture.
Increase to best of pie
Brown in 350◦ oven and amazing in refrigerator for 15 or far more minutes for a standard pie or in the freezer for an hour if it is frozen critical lime pie.
Top secret ingredient. ½ pint of tender vanilla ice product.
Don’t chuckle. The addition of this top secret component has stumped lots of a jealous prepare dinner and chef, which includes, as I claimed, Julia Baby. Expose it and you acquire the secret out of your possess ability to create “Harry Truman analyzed” Frozen Critical Lime pie.