Is Publix key lime pie real?

[aynrandgirl]

That is, does it contain 100% key lime juice and not regular lime juice? It's not terrible but it's not nearly as over the top in flavor as the key lime pies I tried in Key West, and I know it's very common for piemakers to use regular lime juice in "key lime" pies.

[MysticYoYo]

Have never tried a key lime pie from Publix but like others here I do have to defend their breads and other baked items. I have had blueberry and apple pies as well as some pastries from their bakery that were quite good.

Also, I have heard that they pay/treat their employees well, so that's always a good thing to hear about a company you like to frequent. I just wish their prices weren't so high. I usually end up shopping at the Uber-Center because their stuff is significantly cheaper.

[laurie]

I agree that they do a good job with their bakery section overall. My favorite is their sunflower seed bread--really good stuff.

However, there has been some controversy over the treatment of their employees. I read recently in the St. Pete Times that if they don't get a certain score on their performance reviews, their hourly wage is actually cut instead of increased, and depending on the position, some even well-performing employees can't score high enough on the arbitrary-sounding review form. Hopefully their HR department has fixed this apparent inequity since it was reported by the media.

[alkapal]

(as my other more detailed post was deleted):

publix (employee-owned , btw) treats its workers well. the very few sub-pars get 6 months to get their game on before any 25¢ cut.

the people are friendly at publix and they have reliably good baked goods. it is my favorite place for shopping in sw florida -- variety and quality of all groceries and fresh food (love their boiled peanuts near the fresh collards, etc. in the hancock bridge pkwy store in n. ft. myers, fl)

[Mothership]

No kidding - I always shop at the Publix on Colonial and Summerlin in Fort Myers - other than farm markets, they have the freshest produce in the area. Didn't know they were employee owned - and yes, the workers there are always friendly and helpful.

[embee]

I don't know anything about Publix, but I have experimented pretty thoroughly with key lime pie. Whether the juice is "real" key lime or "standard" Persian lime makes no difference. You just get to squeeze a great many more key limes to get your juice.

I've made the traditional (unbaked) filling and several kinds of custard. Whether the pie tastes good or not has little to do with the variety of lime. Artificial lime flavour with sodium benzoate and citric acid is another matter.

[alkapal]

key lime juice tastes different than persian lime juice.

[embee]

Agreed, but not to my palate when used in a key lime pie. While you could never interchange a meyer lemon with a "standard" one, I've found key and Persian limes to work equally well in pie fillings. If you're sufficiently curious, experiment and post your results. (Unlike some others, I can't stand the bottled stuff.)

[alkapal]

maybe you are right embee, but such an experiment path would have to be quite wide! ;-)

[Mothership]

I have no problems with the Publix bakery - they have some really nice breads now and their pies have always been pretty (supermarket) good. I'm in Fort Myers, Florida, so don't know whether this is true anywhere else - but yesterday the Fresh Market here had bags of some really nice key limes. Yup. Gonna haf ta make a pie...

Side note- we used to have the scraggliest looking key lime tree that my father planted when I was a kid. It looked terrible, but produced more delicious limes than you can imagine. My husband re-landscaped and while I was out, you guessed it, the tree guys chopped it down. Many tears. Very sad...

[RibDog]

It was probably grown from seed which would make it a natural tree. Almost all citrus trees now are grafted. The old natural trees bore some of the best fruit. I have an old nongrafted Meyer lemon tree and it is great.

Too bad they cut it down.

John

[Mothership]

Ooooh - your own source for fresh Meyer lemons! That sounds absolutely wonderful.
Be sure to do your own landscaping:)

[Mother of four]

Now my question is, are the Meyer Lemons in season now? I keep asking for them, and I'm told there is a season for them and it's not now!

[laurie]

Ohhhh, how very sad! We have an old key lime tree in our yard that produces hundreds if not thousands of fruits every year that we just adore. I would be very, very sad to lose our amazing old tree.

[andy huse]

forget the pie, I love their onion rye!

[alkapal]

original key lime pie used pastry crust -- not graham cracker crust, fyi.

[jword2001]

Publix has an excellent bakery for a supermarket chain,the key lime pie is quite good, but i gotta go with you on better in the keys, my fave is Blonde Giraffe, second is an Orlando based chain,Bahama breeze,also has killer Key Lime pie, that brown sugar grahm cracker crust is obscenely good!...oh if you ever get by a Bruster's ice cream, try the Key Lime ice cream...better than most pies!

[beteez]

While not the best there is nothing wrong with grabbing one when betteris not readily available ore you dont feel like cooking.

[Mother of four]

I don't know about their Key Lime Pie, but they have a darn good bakery for a supermarket. I make a wonderful key Lime Pie, and I use regular limes, not Key limes!

[Suzie]

Then its not a Key Lime Pie Mother of Four................its a lime pie.

[Mother of four]

Could be, but it's sure good!! Better then many!!

[laurie]

I have to agree with other posters that Publix's key lime pie falls short. It just doesn't have the tart, saliva-inducing kick that I expect from a good key lime pie. The crust is pretty ho-hum, as well.

[eimac]

Publix key lime pie is about the only Publix bakery product I don't like. My local store does "artisanal" breads such as rosemary black pepper or asiago or cranberry walnut that are wonderful. They do a creditable seeded rye, their English muffin bread makes great toast. But their key lime pie, like all bakery key lime pies tastes fake. I can make a decent key lime pie using key limes, persian limes or even that bottled Nellie andJoe stuff. I don't know what Publix uses, but it doesn't cut it in my house.

[RibDog]

I make my own KL pies from scratch also using the juice from Nellie and Joe. In fact, Publix carries this brand. Then with a few other items, it takes me about ten minutes, at the most, to put together and stick it in the oven. Easy, peasy. And the guests think you went to all kinds of trouble.

John

[Val]

I totally agree with you, Ribdog...a very good KL pie is about the easiest pie in the world to make yourself, maybe second easiest is pecan pie.

[Veggo]

I previously confessed here how I screwed up apple pie, but I have screwed up pecan pie as well- way too heavy on the molasses. So after two ignominious defeats on the battlefield of pies, I surrender unconditionally.
I bought a Key Lime pie at Publix today for a dinner tomorrow and I had a chance to grill those in aprons in the bakery section about the integrity of the ingredients. They confessed that they no longer prepare them on site; they arrive from some mysterious central commissary they know nothing about. It looks pretty. If it's either really good or really bad, I'll report back.

[Veggo]

All four of us, after a huge dinner last night of lobster bisque, shrimp scampi, and chili rellenos, thought it was quite passable.

[Gio]

Some day, Veggo, you might just take the plunge and post Your recipe for chili rellenos. Some day.

[sunsuze]

Ahhhh, Ribdog, I do the same thing but Nellie and Joe is not real key lime juice - check the lable!

[joan]

My label says key lime juice concentrate, and sodium benozate as a preservative, so not sure what you mean...

Anyway, you can all come over to my house, because I have a key lime tree that has many many fruits on it right now, and we already have four frozen homegrown key lime pies in the freezer. :)

[RibDog]

If I come over, it will be for the seafood at Mid-Peninsula. Yum!!!

BTW Joan, congratulations on the marriage of your daughter recently.

John

[joan]

Thanks so much! She was truly beautiful, and the happiest bride I've ever seen. We now have a wonderful Son too!.
Oh, and if you ever need a caterer, we loved the one we chose, Delectables. They are out of Palm Harbor. Can't recommend them enough!

Also, John could you Pretty Please email me your pie recipe? Don the Pie Man has tried many recipes, the egg ones we've tried all come out runny...so he defaulted to the cream cheese/freeze variety.
joan leak atttt hotmail dot com. Thanks!

[sunsuze]

Youre on!

[Suzie]

I was told years ago that they use one of those cheap liquid egg products in them.

[Big Bad Voodoo Lou]

It's real... and it's spectacular.

[rhnault]

this somehow sounds like Terry Hatcher on Seinfeld lol....

[mialebven]

It's Publix... NOTHING is real!

[RibDog]

That sure seems like a cheap shot to me. I realize it is Publix but unless you know that they don't use key lime juice in their pies, you comment is uncalled for.

John

[rhnault]

yeah I think Publix has a pretty decent bakery for a chain grocery store. Their key lime pie is pretty good.

[Kajikit]

The Publix bakery is a thousand times better than Albertsons (which in turn is better than Winn-dixie!) Publix actually produces very edible bakery goods made using recognisable ingredients - our SIL got all the food for our wedding party from Publix including the (very pretty but buttercream-standard) cake, and we certainly didn't feel slighted. I wouldn't put them down... I adore Publix's custardy desserts and I'm sure their key lime pie would be good too.