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Lemon/Lime/Citrus Curd: The Topic


bloviatrix

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I've done the same with pink grapefruit before also and that was extremely good.

I went through a curd phase about ten years ago. I made:

Lemon Curd

Orange Curd

Grapefruit Curd

Tangarine Curd

Pomello Curd

Tangello Curd

and a few others I'm sure I'm forgetting. Haven't made curd much since -- don't know why. Perhaps I ought to revisit it.

I used basically the same recipe for all. I think it may have been from the Cake Bible through it may just as easily been from Fine Cooking.

-Art

Edited by Art (log)

Amano Artisan Chocolate

http://www.amanochocolate.com/

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Ha, I was just at the supermarket and saw Guava Curd & Passionfruit Curd. They were like 7 bucks for a tiny jar.

But yes, ok to sub out limes for lemons. Pam R is right about the oranges though. Grapefruit sounds fabulous!

I add a tiny tiny bit of yellow and a teensy weensy bit of green just to give that visual clue that it's lime and not lemon.

Stephanie Crocker

Sugar Bakery + Cafe

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Ha, I was just at the supermarket and saw Guava Curd & Passionfruit Curd. They were like 7 bucks for a tiny jar.

But yes, ok to sub out limes for lemons. Pam R is right about the oranges though. Grapefruit sounds fabulous!

I add a tiny tiny bit of yellow and a teensy weensy bit of green just to give that visual clue that it's lime and not lemon.

As I recall, grapefruit was really good. I don't remember exactly which but some turned out to be really spectacular. The others were close enough that with a little work they could be made to be really good as well. (Though they were all wonderful in their own way.)

Hadn't thought of passionfruit .....

-Art

Amano Artisan Chocolate

http://www.amanochocolate.com/

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Ha, I was just at the supermarket and saw Guava Curd & Passionfruit Curd. They were like 7 bucks for a tiny jar.

But yes, ok to sub out limes for lemons. Pam R is right about the oranges though. Grapefruit sounds fabulous!

I add a tiny tiny bit of yellow and a teensy weensy bit of green just to give that visual clue that it's lime and not lemon.

As I recall, grapefruit was really good. I don't remember exactly which but some turned out to be really spectacular. The others were close enough that with a little work they could be made to be really good as well. (Though they were all wonderful in their own way.)

Hadn't thought of passionfruit .....

-Art

I have made a combination curd, strawberry/grapefruit - using the "sweetie" white grapefruit.

One the recipes I have used for years, from a British food cookbook is for gooseberry curd, which has a very interesting flavor.

I also make a curd with red currants - the tart flavor is perfect for a filling in little English sponge teacakes or 1/2-size cupcakes (1/2 depth - no more than an inch).

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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  • 2 months later...
A few questions:

Is it possible to make a curd without the egg white coagulating? Or is something I should just deal with and sieve all my curds?

Thanks!

By the way, lemon curd cheesecake bars Are Good Things. :smile:

If you beat the eggs really well before you add the other ingredients, that will help. Your eggs should be beaten as if you used an immersion blender and the curd will come out nice and smooth.

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A few questions:

Is it possible to make a curd without the egg white coagulating? Or is something I should just deal with and sieve all my curds?

Thanks!

By the way, lemon curd cheesecake bars Are Good Things. :smile:

If you beat the eggs really well before you add the other ingredients, that will help. Your eggs should be beaten as if you used an immersion blender and the curd will come out nice and smooth.

Great! I'll try this again next week.

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

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A few questions:

Is it possible to make a curd without the egg white coagulating? Or is something I should just deal with and sieve all my curds?

Thanks!

By the way, lemon curd cheesecake bars Are Good Things. :smile:

If you beat the eggs really well before you add the other ingredients, that will help. Your eggs should be beaten as if you used an immersion blender and the curd will come out nice and smooth.

Or, beat the eggs with the sugar before adding the other ingredients. This makes for a more viscous mixture, which helps the egg whites get evenly dispersed. Thinking literally about it, of course, you actually want the egg whites to coagulate to some extent -- that's what forms the gel that makes a curd thicken and become a curd, as opposed to a sauce. You just want the egg to be evenly dispersed before it coagulates, and control the degree to which coagulation occurs.

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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A few questions:

Is it possible to make a curd without the egg white coagulating? Or is something I should just deal with and sieve all my curds?

Thanks!

By the way, lemon curd cheesecake bars Are Good Things. :smile:

If you beat the eggs really well before you add the other ingredients, that will help. Your eggs should be beaten as if you used an immersion blender and the curd will come out nice and smooth.

Or, beat the eggs with the sugar before adding the other ingredients. This makes for a more viscous mixture, which helps the egg whites get evenly dispersed. Thinking literally about it, of course, you actually want the egg whites to coagulate to some extent -- that's what forms the gel that makes a curd thicken and become a curd, as opposed to a sauce. You just want the egg to be evenly dispersed before it coagulates, and control the degree to which coagulation occurs.

That's what I've been doing, actually, but I still got a lot of coagulated egg whites (not curd)--at least, it seemed a lot to me, since it was only the second time that I've made lemon curd. Which was why I asked.

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

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A few questions:

Is it possible to make a curd without the egg white coagulating? Or is something I should just deal with and sieve all my curds?

Thanks!

By the way, lemon curd cheesecake bars Are Good Things. :smile:

If you beat the eggs really well before you add the other ingredients, that will help. Your eggs should be beaten as if you used an immersion blender and the curd will come out nice and smooth.

Or, beat the eggs with the sugar before adding the other ingredients. This makes for a more viscous mixture, which helps the egg whites get evenly dispersed. Thinking literally about it, of course, you actually want the egg whites to coagulate to some extent -- that's what forms the gel that makes a curd thicken and become a curd, as opposed to a sauce. You just want the egg to be evenly dispersed before it coagulates, and control the degree to which coagulation occurs.

That's what I've been doing, actually, but I still got a lot of coagulated egg whites (not curd)--at least, it seemed a lot to me, since it was only the second time that I've made lemon curd. Which was why I asked.

Have you tried the Fine Cooking lemon curd recipe? You beat the eggs and sugar with the butter, then cook. I haven't had any problem with coagulation when lemon curd is made this way.

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A few questions:

Is it possible to make a curd without the egg white coagulating? Or is something I should just deal with and sieve all my curds?

Thanks!

By the way, lemon curd cheesecake bars Are Good Things. :smile:

If you beat the eggs really well before you add the other ingredients, that will help. Your eggs should be beaten as if you used an immersion blender and the curd will come out nice and smooth.

Or, beat the eggs with the sugar before adding the other ingredients. This makes for a more viscous mixture, which helps the egg whites get evenly dispersed. Thinking literally about it, of course, you actually want the egg whites to coagulate to some extent -- that's what forms the gel that makes a curd thicken and become a curd, as opposed to a sauce. You just want the egg to be evenly dispersed before it coagulates, and control the degree to which coagulation occurs.

That's what I've been doing, actually, but I still got a lot of coagulated egg whites (not curd)--at least, it seemed a lot to me, since it was only the second time that I've made lemon curd. Which was why I asked.

Hmm. What temperature are you cooking your curd to?

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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A few questions:

Is it possible to make a curd without the egg white coagulating? Or is something I should just deal with and sieve all my curds?

Thanks!

By the way, lemon curd cheesecake bars Are Good Things. :smile:

If you beat the eggs really well before you add the other ingredients, that will help. Your eggs should be beaten as if you used an immersion blender and the curd will come out nice and smooth.

Or, beat the eggs with the sugar before adding the other ingredients. This makes for a more viscous mixture, which helps the egg whites get evenly dispersed. Thinking literally about it, of course, you actually want the egg whites to coagulate to some extent -- that's what forms the gel that makes a curd thicken and become a curd, as opposed to a sauce. You just want the egg to be evenly dispersed before it coagulates, and control the degree to which coagulation occurs.

That's what I've been doing, actually, but I still got a lot of coagulated egg whites (not curd)--at least, it seemed a lot to me, since it was only the second time that I've made lemon curd. Which was why I asked.

Have you tried the Fine Cooking lemon curd recipe? You beat the eggs and sugar with the butter, then cook. I haven't had any problem with coagulation when lemon curd is made this way.

I made this recipe, and I felt it was too liquid. Maybe I didn't cook enough?

A few questions:

Is it possible to make a curd without the egg white coagulating? Or is something I should just deal with and sieve all my curds?

Thanks!

By the way, lemon curd cheesecake bars Are Good Things. :smile:

If you beat the eggs really well before you add the other ingredients, that will help. Your eggs should be beaten as if you used an immersion blender and the curd will come out nice and smooth.

Or, beat the eggs with the sugar before adding the other ingredients. This makes for a more viscous mixture, which helps the egg whites get evenly dispersed. Thinking literally about it, of course, you actually want the egg whites to coagulate to some extent -- that's what forms the gel that makes a curd thicken and become a curd, as opposed to a sauce. You just want the egg to be evenly dispersed before it coagulates, and control the degree to which coagulation occurs.

That's what I've been doing, actually, but I still got a lot of coagulated egg whites (not curd)--at least, it seemed a lot to me, since it was only the second time that I've made lemon curd. Which was why I asked.

Hmm. What temperature are you cooking your curd to?

I have no idea. My thermometer doesn't take temps below 190F. Note to self: Why didn't you look more closely at it before you bought it?

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

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Has anyone tried the lemon curd recipe in Dorie Greenspan's latest book? She also has a lemon cream recipe in the same book. The book says that the lemon cream has more tang and less butteriness. This confuses me since her cream has more than three times as much butter as her curd. I did purposely post this here here rather on the "Baking From My Home to Yours" thread, just in case you lemon curd lovers have tried her recipe. Thanks.

Aria in Oregon

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I have no idea. My thermometer doesn't take temps below 190F. Note to self: Why didn't you look more closely at it before you bought it?

Well, if the problem is not failure to disperse the eggs into the other ingredients --and I doubt it is if you are mixing the eggs with the sugar first-- then the coagulated bits are probably a result of overcooking.

Edited by Patrick S (log)

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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  • 2 months later...

There are a few lemon curd recipes in my files. One calls for using whole eggs, another for using only egg yolks, and another that asks for X-number of yolks PLUS X-number of whole eggs. Apart from the eggs, the recipes are reasonably similar. So, what taste/texture differences might I expect as a result of using the different egg variations?

Shel

 ... Shel


 

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1 c juice from about 6 lemons..(ha..took 9 for me, bad lemons??)

1 teaspoon powdered gelatin

Did you warm the lemons? If you put them whole into the microwave for about 25 seconds, one at a time, you will find you get a lot more juice. I almost always need less lemons than the recipe calls for to get the juice.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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It's amazing that the word 'gelatin' did not appear until page 11 on this thread!!

So, for all of you who are making the curd for a cake, I refer you to the 'Ultimate Lemon Layer Cake" from April 07 of Cooks Illustrated mag. The recipe is nicely tart, and sets up perfectly. I made the cake as written and the layers were light enough (4) that there was no oozing. I will be using the curd in tartlet shells for an engagement party this weekend. I'm going to blind bake (and add the beaten eggwhite as described upthread..thanks) and then fill. this curd is designed to set firm, so it should be perfect after a flick of the offset spatula.

1 c juice from about 6 lemons..(ha..took 9 for me, bad lemons??)

1 teaspoon powdered gelatin

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

6 yolks (if making the cake, you need the whites...if you want that recipe, let me know)

1 stick us butter cut into cubes and frozen (I do not know why. since I keep cut up sticks of butter in ziplocs in the freezer for crusts I just used some of that...have no idea what would happen if you used just cold butter. Must have something to do with bringing the temp down without using a water bath).

sprinkle gelatin over 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in small bowl. heat juice sugar and salt in nonreactive saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves and it's hot..not boiling.pour hot lemon mix over the eggs (whisked in a lorge nonreactive bowl) SLOWLY, WHILE WHISKING ALL THE WHILE...it helps to have help with this part. Then return mix to the suacepan and heat while stirring to 170 or thick enough to 'leave a trail'. remove from heat and stir in gelatin mix and stir until dissolved. stir in butter chunks until mixed, strain into nonreactive bowl and cover directly on surface with plastic wrap for at least 4 hours. I did it night before for cake and just had to fold it a few times to bring back to spreading form.

It's not a lot of gelatin and it gives the curd just the tightness it needs not to creep.

I've also made 3 trays of marshmallows this week so I'm a little up to my eyeballs in the gelatin recipes. Actually that's why I tried this recipe, I already had 8 little orange boxes. Sometimes things just go in your favor, or flavor in this case!

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1 c juice from about 6 lemons..(ha..took 9 for me, bad lemons??)

1 teaspoon powdered gelatin

Did you warm the lemons? If you put them whole into the microwave for about 25 seconds, one at a time, you will find you get a lot more juice. I almost always need less lemons than the recipe calls for to get the juice.

yes, damn near burned my hands doing so. Ever get a lemon with about a 1/2 inch of pith??

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1 c juice from about 6 lemons..(ha..took 9 for me, bad lemons??)

1 teaspoon powdered gelatin

Did you warm the lemons? If you put them whole into the microwave for about 25 seconds, one at a time, you will find you get a lot more juice. I almost always need less lemons than the recipe calls for to get the juice.

yes, damn near burned my hands doing so. Ever get a lemon with about a 1/2 inch of pith??

any citrus fruit you pick should be heavy for its size. these will usually yield more juice than what appears to be a big lemon but is very light for its size.

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OMG, I tried the herme cream (with slight modifications) yesterday. I've made alton's version before and thought it was yummy, but this was even better.

I made a 1 1/3 batch, and to try and make it a bit thicker, since I was using it as lemon meringue pie filling, I used yolks instead of whole eggs + 1/3 the number of yolks as whole eggs. My recipe was 6 egg yolks + 2 eggs, 1 cup of lemon juice, zest of 4 lemons, 14 ounces of butter and 1 1/3 cups of sugar. Standard method, double boiler to measured 180 degrees, strained and blended once at 140 to incorporate butter in soft chunks and for 4 minutes after incorporation.

I think it's way way way too ridiculously rich for pie filling but the texture was perfect for pie; the cut edges around the missing wedges are still standing after 12 hours and it's the most amazingly smooth creamy lemony thing ever. I'll bet in a tart or tartlet it would be perfect.

Tangential to the issue of lemon cream, from a technical standpoint as a pie this is my best effort yet. The meringue is non-weepingly non-soggily flawless (Italian; 6 whites and 3/4 of that by weight in sugar cooked to soft ball and blended into soft-peaked whites then taken to stiff glossy peaks, then browned under the broiler after topping the pie) and it's the best crust I've ever made. The crust was RLB's cream cheese crust from her website, which is much easier when you have a food processor and can easily work with frozen butter :) Doubt I'll use the the proc much for anything else once the novelty wears off, but even if it was a $200 pie crust mixer it might be worth it to me. This was tender, flaky, flavorful, and very easy to roll out/transfer/crimp. Shrunk a little becuase I didn't let it rest enough after crimping it, just froze it for 20 mins and blind-baked due to time constraints, and I probably took the weights out a bit too soon.

But the cream, A+ would make again.

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My husband and I made lemon curd for many years until I got sick of it and also had to start watching my cholesterol. We tasted many commercial and artisanal curds and we always felt this one compared well. It is an easy recipe and very reliable; believe me, if it was a delicate operation we would be divorced by now. We never used a thermometer. The proportions and timing were arrived at after years of tweaking. It's quite tart. We experimented with using limes instead of lemons and cutting back the amount of sugar, and that wasn't half bad. This recipe yields approx 3 half-pint jars with a few tablespoons left over. The result is very spreadable, medium stiff. Perhaps if you want it very stiff you could cook it another five minutes. The consistency would work for a lemon tart I think, but we mainly used it as a spread for toast.

7/8 cup lemon juice (from 4 or 5 lemons--not meyer--way too sweet)

fine zest from 3 of the lemons

4.5 medium-large eggs (okay I know that's a bit strange, but there it is)

1 stick sweet butter

1.5 cup plus 3T sugar

Sterilize jars as you like. Grate lemon rind, eliminating all pith, set aside. Squeeze lemons and strain the juice to get 7/8 c. Beat the eggs (I would beat 5 and then pour off what I guessed was about a half an egg. My husband learned to look the other way. When he used all 5 eggs I thought the end product was too eggy.) In a double boiler melt the butter, keeping the water at a modest simmer. When just melted add sugar, juice, zest. When warm but not too hot, add the beaten eggs--all at once, not slowly, so you keep them from cooking too quickly. Simmer uncovered over medium or med-low heat, stirring constantly, about 20 minutes, til smooth and creamy. The consistency may look questionnable the first 10 minutes, but keep stirring and have faith. It should end up smooth and creamy. Ladle into jars. Keeps 2 months in the fridge.

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