Lemon Curd

What's in a name? I mean, Shakespeare said it, didn't he? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. This is the kind of statement that makes me want to push the concept. I mean, what if we take a lovely rose and call it a booger. Will we want to stick our noses in it and breathe deeply? I'm not so sure.

Take lemon curd. I mean, let's face it: curd is not a pretty word. It brings up images of Miss Muffet and spiders. Altogether too icky a name for this lovely stuff. It's like somebody boogered my rose. I think we should call it something else. What, though? Lemon roses? Lemon velvet? No, that sounds like chewing tobacco. Lemon sauce? Too liquid. Lemon jam? Close, but how to distinguish it from marmalade?

That's the problem. I don't like the name, but I can't think of a better one. Maybe French could help: lemon velouté. That's better, isn't it? It sounds like 'velvet'. The problem is that velouté is a soup. Lemon confit. That one has possibilities. But no, it's already taken for another thing. 

Sigh. I guess we'll just have to call it lemon curd. But it's not really curd-y. It's satin-y and smooth and tart and delicious on just about anything. It's wonderful in lemon tarts (especially the tiny ones) and on gingerbread and in verrines with a little whipped cream and maybe some oat shortbread cookies as a base. Here, though, a lot of it most of it gets eaten on my finger. Or on a spoon if I'm being fancy.

You really need fresh lemon juice for this. If all you have is bottled lemon juice, make a margarita and wait till you have the real stuff. It's the star of the show here and you want it to shine! This recipe calls for zest. I used to use a special lemon oil that I could find sometimes instead of the zest because the zest made little gritty lumps in the velvety smoothness of this stuff. Today, however, with a microplane grater I find that the zest just sort of disappears. So I use the zest.

Let's talk about butter. You need it here—no margarine. I use salted butter, but if yours is unsalted you can add a tiny pinch of salt if you want. I don't think it matters either way, to be honest. 

I've had this recipe for a very long time. It came from a now-defunct magazine called Cuisine. I loved that magazine. It was a little before its time, I think. There is a French magazine with the same name here. I buy it regularly and I like it almost as much as the old one. I've carried this recipe around with me for so may years that it's yellowed and spotted and I still love it. You will too.

On second thought...you know what, I don't think you'll like it after all. If anyone tries to give you some, don't eat it. Impound it immediately and send it to me. I'll take care of it for you.

You're welcome.
 

Lemon Curd
Adapted from Cuisine

3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
175 g / ¾ cup sugar
125 ml / ½ cup lemon juice
grated zest of one lemon
60 g / ¼ cup butter, cut into 4 pieces

• Put eggs and egg yolks in a medium small saucepan over very low heat.

• Whisk the eggs while adding the sugar and the lemon juice. Add the zest.

• Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.

• Add the butter piece by piece. After each piece, stir until it's melted then add the next one.

• Keep cooking, stirring constantly until it's thick and creamy. This can take up to 20 minutes, depending on your heat.

• Pour into pretty jars and cover.

• Refrigerate when cool.

Makes about 2 cups


NOTES:

• I always use more lemon juice. I like it tart. You can taste it for tartness/sweetness as soon as you have the sugar and lemon and eggs all mixed up.

• This is also good with a mixture of lime and lemon or with just limes.

• Make sure that the butter is cold. As you add it, you're making an emulsion, so stir, stir, stir.

• Many recipes for lemon curd use a double boiler. If you have one, that's a good idea. If you don't, you can do what I do and just use low heat. Be patient. DON'T turn up the heat - if you do, you risk ending up with lemon scrambled eggs.

• They tell me that this will keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks, but I can't confirm that. It doesn't last that long at my house.