Calamondin Orange Pie

While I was growing up in Nyack, NY, my mom had a Calamondin orange tree in our living room. She would put it outside in the summer, but it had to come back in during the cold winter months. That tree lived for DECADES, faithfully supplying fruit for years on end. No one ate the fruit except my neighbor Suzie. She loved the sour taste!

When I moved to Florida, I knew I wanted to find a Calamondin orange tree. We purchased one at Home Depot this past fall. Our tree was already covered with fruit when we bought it. I'm looking forward to the next time it flowers, as the blossoms have such a lovely, sweet smell.

Calamondin oranges are as sour as lemons or limes. But they are very small, so you must squeeze loads of them to make a recipe. I used about a cup full of the tiny oranges to get a half cup of juice for this pie. Squeezing the little fruits took longer than any other step! But you will end up with a pie just as delicious as key lime pie. You can also make orange curd from the juice, or use the whole fruits in a marmalade. Basically, you can substitute the juice in any recipe that calls for lemon or lime juice.

Ingredients:

One graham cracker crumb crust (I purchased a pre-made crust.)

14 oz. can condensed milk

3 large egg yolks

1/2 cup Calamondin orange juice

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, blend condensed milk with egg yolks and juice. Pour filling into crust and bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Refrigerate pie for several hours or overnight. Serve with whipped cream. Makes about 8 servings.