Lemon/Lime/Citrus Curd: The Topic

[Tri2Cook]

Will any tart fruit and a little lemon juice (or citric acid?) work for a curd? I'm thinking of trying it with some of the morello cherry puree I have in the freezer. I've done the citrus curds, passionfruit curd and raspberry curd but there's a whole world of tart fruits out there to play with. Experimenting is not a problem but I might as well start by learning from what others have already tried and how well it worked (or didn't).

[gfron1]

Check out the curd section of the Pastry & Baking Index which has a non lemon/lime topic HERE.

[Tri2Cook]

Should have known that would exist. Thanks!

Edit: Ok, looks like the answer is to start experimenting. Lots of ideas in that thread but not much "I tried this, it worked/didn't work/required this" so I guess I get to play.

Edited November 8, 2007 by Tri2Cook (log)

[Pephemie]

Hm, I was comparing that Fine Cooking recipe to the one I used to make at my old job, and they're exactly the same, except that our recipe had 2x the amount of eggs and yolks. I don't recall there being any weird metallic taste but I wasn't looking for it, so I suppose I'd have to try again.

We never waited for the curd to cool before adding the butter, and the product definitely got grainy after a vacation in the fridge.

Testing the Fine Cooking recipe tomorrow at work with some satsuma mandarins...

[yunnermeier]

I followed the Fine Cooking recipe and I love it! It's very lemony with just the right amount of sweetness. Lovely colour and it wasn't runny at all.

Edited March 18, 2008 by yunnermeier (log)

[jdtofbna]

Ditto that. I used the Fine Cooking recipe to make a tart over the weekend and it was absolutely the best---and easiest---lemon curd I've ever made. I did go ahead at the end and beat it in a bowl over ice to cool it down. No straining, just the right balance of tart and sweet---perfect!

[gfron1]

Almost lemon....Grapefruit Curd in Black Sesame Shell.

[alanamoana]

rob, nice tartlette. how did the curd come out?

i made some meyer lemon curd this weekend. used vanilla sugar and instead of cooking it with the butter, added it at the end and used my immersion blender...smooth, creamy and delicious! served it over macerated strawberries and raspberries on shortcakes (biscuits) with some unsweetened whipped cream.

only thing i'd do differently is use even less sugar for the meyer lemons. i reduced the sugar by one third of what the recipe called for and used more lemon juice, but they were so sweet (relatively speaking) i could have cut back on the sugar even more.

[gfron1]

I used Amernick's recipe and it was not overly sweet. It was not set up enough for my liking, but perfect for pouring in a cup. I liked the grapefruit tang with the sweetness of curd.

[Tri2Cook]

Cool Rob. Grapefruit is one of my current favorite flavors so you can toss one of those this way if you want.

[Sethro]

Is this usually done with just gellatin? Is it a a caragenan/locust bean thing? Cant imagine why gellan would be necessary since it never gets warm. Anybody know?

[Tri2Cook]

Gelatin and agar both work great. I like the results with agar better but I'm going to play around with combining both one of these days just out of curiosity.

edit: I wonder if there's sufficient calcium in a curd for LM pectin to be an option?

Edited July 23, 2008 by Tri2Cook (log)

[Sethro]

So I'm guessing that more agar and less gelatin than if I was making a film? Maybe .25% gelatin and .15% agar?

Hmm I feel like there's probably some more suave way of dong it with ingredients I'm less familiar with...

[Tri2Cook]

I guess that depends on whether you're looking for good results or looking to say "and for this curd I sheared .0032% methylglutaminase oxide into a bath of liquid carranutrinate sulfate at -49.5 celsius then heated it to +49.5 celsius in a vacuum cooker for 10.46 hours before immersing in liquid nitrogen for 5.2 seconds and chilling at +10 celsius for 24 hours". Agar and/or gelatin seemed to be just the right thing for Sam Mason, Alex Stupak and the folks at Ideas in Food when they were playing with sliceable curds but I'm sure there are other interesting ways of doing it. I've done sliceable, bendable custards with a combo of gelatin, agar and carrageenan. You already know about the carrageenan/LBG thing. LM pectin works well for that too. I haven't tried applying those to curds though. Maybe I will.

[Sethro]

Oh, I was just imagining that there was a better way to maintain the texture of a curd than by using gelatin or agar. If I use enough gelatin to move it without breaking it, it will be pretty rubbery, right? If I use enough agar it will get grainy. I'm guessing because I haven't tried it yet. If I don't have to order another ingredient for the pantry I'd rather not...

I never tried Sam Mason's or Alex Stupak's but I guess I imagined it being a more revolutionary process. I'm happy if it's not.

EDIT: Also, if I'm using agar, what am I boiling it in? Just the lemon juice alone before I start the curd?

Edited July 23, 2008 by Sethro (log)

[naes]

According to chef Stupak, sorbitol was the key to achieving the flexibility in his chocolate ganache. The recipe also include glucose (no sucrose), gelatin and agar.

[andiesenji]

I think I know what you are trying to achieve.

A couple of months ago I made a strawberry curd, molded it in a terrine as I needed to slice it so I could layer it with slices of cake to make dessert sandwiches.

I used Kuzu root starch, recommended by a friend who has been experimenting with various "setting" agents, and likes the silky texture this thickener produces, while keeping the product stable.

I used not quite double the amount called for in "regular" pudding and the results were as perfect as I could wish for.

I used it also in a lemon/cheese layered pie and had none of the weeping that has plagued my lemon meringue pies in the past.

My local health food store carries it in bulk and sells it by the ounce. But it is widely available on line

here is one vendor and I do buy from them.

[Sethro]

Interesting. Does it need to cook out at a boil like cornstarch? What % porportion did you try?

[Tri2Cook]

I agree with Sethro, that is interesting. Is kuzu starch the same thing as kudzu starch? I used to use kudzu leaves (as a veg) and kudzu blossoms (as a flavoring agent, tastes and smells like a grape lollipop) when I lived in the southeast U.S. and I've read about the starch but I've never worked with it.

[Sethro]

So far carageenan + LBG is giving me the best result. It occurs to me that I actually used to do this back in the day just by thickening the curd with a tiny % cornstarch, freezing it and letting it thaw on the plate for as little as 1 minute. It held its shape 100% fine.

Gonna keep playing with it and maybe get some methcel A15 in there too sinche its going to be placed adjacent to a hot component...

[chiantiglace]

So I'm guessing that more agar and less gelatin than if I was making a film? Maybe .25% gelatin and .15% agar?

Hmm I feel like there's probably some more suave way of dong it with ingredients I'm less familiar with...

←

Films I like to use blends of arabic, methylcellulose, poly glycol alginate, carrageenan and or agar.

I know Sam Mason likes to use a blend of hi and low acyl gellan for his "eggless" lemon curd

[Sethro]

I know Sam Mason likes to use a blend of hi and low acyl gellan for his "eggless" lemon curd

Ah. Well there we have it. My understanding is that the proportions of high to low acl gellan is usually 1:1. Does that sound about right?

[andiesenji]

Interesting. Does it need to cook out at a boil like cornstarch? What % porportion did you try?

←

I use it as I would arrowroot. I like to experiment with various types of thickeners and like the results I got with kuzu (or kudzu) - it was recommended by the owner of the health food store.

here is a reference to most thickeners.

and here is another site to which I referred. when I first bought the product.

Wickipedia has a fairly extensive entry on kudzu.

[gfron1]

I've recently had a rash of folks who want to buy my lemon curd. Great! But, I really can't keep doing it to order with my schedule. Has anyone made a curd that either has an extended life in the fridge, or better yet, shelf stable? Is the citric acid that Kerry had me get going to be my key?

~Puckeringly yours!

[tmriga]

Oh, I love curds!

What's my prize if I tell you what to do? Just kidding.

The best places to look for information on canning are through argricultural/cooperative extensions at state colleges and universities. Here's a link to the University of Missouri cooperative extension. Just use your recipe and their procedure.

http://extension.missouri.edu/stcharles/qfk/Sep05/curd.html

I tasted a fabulous lemon curd at the NY Fancy Food Show. It had a great backnote of butter to it. Does your recipe have a lot of butter in it?

Theresa