You may know of key lime pie as Florida’s official state pie, but did you know that it used to be sour orange pie? In 2006 key lime pie became Florida’s official state pie. Before that, sour orange pie was unofficially recognized as Florida’s official pie. It is very similar to key lime pie with it’s Graham cracker crust and sweetened condensed milk, but with a beautiful orange flavor. Join me on my journey to making Florida’s original state dessert, sour orange pie.
History of Sour Orange Pie
Shull, James Marion, 1923, public domain
Spanish settlers brought sour oranges to Florida. Growing up here in Florida, I always referred to these as wild oranges. They are the oranges not many people eat anymore. Yes, their name describes their flavor. They are sour. Like a mix between an orange and a lemon. These are how oranges tasted in Florida before the hybridization of the many varieties of oranges we have today. Sour oranges aren’t particularly pleasing to eat on their own, so they are often made into pies, marmalades, and sauces.
Key lime and sour orange orange pies became popular hundreds of years ago because they didn’t rely on refrigeration with the use of sweetened condensed milk and were able to utilize wild, less desirable fruit.
A dear friend of mine has a sour orange tree in her back yard and recently gave me a bushel of oranges and encouraged me to make sour orange pie. Key lime pie is one of my favorite custard pies, so I was excited to try a new spin on this with Florida’s classic sour orange pie.
If you don’t have a friend with a sour orange tree in her backyard, you can still make sour orange pie. A grocery store near us sells them. Or you can do a mix of lemon juice and orange juice.
Sour Orange Pie Ingredients:
1 Graham cracker crust (see my Einkorn Graham cracker crust recipe here)
14 ounces of sweetened condensed milk (see my homemade sweetened condensed recipe here)
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup of sour orange juice. If you don’t have sour orange juice, you can do 1 part lemon juice to 2 parts orange juice.
Sour Orange Pie Recipe:
Start by preheating the oven to 350F. Mix together the sour orange juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks. Mix the ingredients well for several minutes in a stand mixer.
Pour the pie mixture into the Graham cracker crust. Cover the edges of the pie with foil so the crust won’t burn.
Bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes until the center is set. Give the pie a very slight jiggle in the oven to see if the middle is set. There should be very little movement of the pie filling. After the pie has cooled, store in the refrigerator. I hope you enjoy this pie as much as my family did!
Follow along @homesteadonlakeside for more family homemade inspiration and recipes.
Florida’s Sour Orange Pie
Ingredients
- 1 Graham cracker crust
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 2/3 cup sour orange juice
- 4 egg yolks
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 350F. Mix together the sour orange juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks. Mix the ingredients well for several minutes in a stand mixer.
- Pour the pie mixture into the Graham cracker crust. Cover the edges of the pie with foil so the crust won't burn.
- Bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes until the center is set. Give the pie a very slight jiggle in the oven to see if the middle is set. There should be very little movement of the pie filling. After the pie has cooled, store in the refrigerator. I hope you enjoy this pie as much as my family did!
Leave a Reply