Lemon/Lime/Citrus Curd: The Topic

[gfron1]

You can make a curd without butter?!

I use a zipped up version of Amernick's Lime Curd which I have made into a number of flavors. Its very good and very easy. thanks for the link.

[CanadianBakin']

It wouldn't help for display purposes but I use Ph's lemon cream and it freezes really well. You could portion it into saleable amounts and have it ready to go upon request.

[Pam R]

It wouldn't help for display purposes but I use Ph's lemon cream and it freezes really well. You could portion it into saleable amounts and have it ready to go upon request.

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Unless he has a display freezer . . I always make large batches and freeze lemon (or lime) curd.

[gfron1]

Has anyone tried frozen lemon concentrate for curd before? I'm sure this desire to not juice one more f&%$ing lemon will pass once I get rested from the holidays, but I'm curious if there's much taste difference.

[gfron1]

I'll take that as a No and keep on squeezing.

[Kerry Beal]

I'll take that as a No and keep on squeezing.

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Haven't tried it, but I suspect it might really boost the flavour? Are you going to try it for us?

[Tri2Cook]

I haven't tried it either but I'd be willing to just for the curiosity factor. Only problem is, I don't think the local grocery carries frozen lemon juice concentrate, just frozen lemonade concentrate, so it wouldn't be an accurate taste test. I was planning to work on an experimental grapefruit curd idea today or tomorrow so I don't mind doing an additional test while I'm at it if I can find a frozen lemon juice concentrate but I know the store pretty well and I don't remember seeing it there.

[momcook]

I'll take that as a No and keep on squeezing.

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i have frozen my lemons fresh and used later - but this is when i love mom's old trusty electric juicer

[gfron1]

Alright. I took one for the team. I used a frozen Minute Made lemon juice from concentrate. Just juice and water. It was on sale for $2 for 250g. My recipe needed 450g so I added fresh - another 5 lemons. This wasn't a controlled experiment since I combined juices, but it gave me a good idea of the outcome.

I found the taste to be just a bit more subdued than normal. Still tangy and it saved me a decent amount of time. If I could find a bigger bottle of the concentrate I would try it again or find it on sale again. But it seems like a reasonable substitute. It definitely needs to be the frozen juice though not the lemonade.

[ambra]

EMERGENCY!!

I made the FC Lemon Curd recipe and it came out just toooo sweet. Is there anything I can do to save it? It is going to be the filling for a cake. Is the only option to make the cake less sweet or can I do something to the curd? I just tasted it on Bread and it was still too sweet so short of making a sugarless cake, I don't know what to do....

Thank you!

[andiesenji]

I don't use the FC recipe but I have had a similar experience.

My fix was to put the curd in a double boiler, add 1/4 cup of lemon juice for each quart of curd, heat it fully and then add in an additional egg yolk then finish the process.

It should set up just as well as at first.

(My recipe makes 8 pints)

[Luke]

Hello All,

I just made the recipe from Elinor Klivans shown here.

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/lemon_curd.aspx

I have never made lemon curd (or as I call it Lemon Butter) before.

The recipe and technique seemed very strait forward. The pictures helped ease any concern, especially regarding the splitting when lemon juice was added. I did make it with the assistance of a candy thermometer, but mixture thickened at exactly the right temperature.

I found the finished product to be fantastic. I would not say it turned out silky smooth, but very smooth compared to most lemon curds I have tasted. The whole process was incredibly easy (no need for double boilers, no straining required) and I can't wait to make another batch.

Cheers

Luke

[QbanCrackr]

so the title says it all...i made a lemon curd a couple of times--one using stainless tools (bowls, whisk) and another using wood & glass. both times i followed the recipes exactly and when it was on the stove cooking (double boiler) it started smelling very metallic. when it cooled, the taste lessened a little bit but it was still very strong...to the point that 1/6 people liked it (and the following day that 1 person backed down)

used it solo as a topping for fruit and also as an ingredient in other recipes (lemon mousse)...its not just lemons but limes as well (key lime juice + eggs for key lime pie and same thing)

anyone know why this is happening (so i learn the reasons) as well as any tips for it not to happen (if this is even possible)?

thanks

[RWood]

I don't know what your recipe is like, but I have found if there are too many yolks, it tends to taste metallic to me. I use a recipe that has half whole eggs and half yolks.

I have tried a lemon curd that had a little lime juice added, and I thought it took away from the lemon flavor.

[QbanCrackr]

hmm...to be honest it was a while since i made it..just kind of gave up on it to be honest...frustrated me a bit not knowing what was happening

in any case, i don't really remember using both yolks + whole eggs. most recipes i've tried from the joy of cooking have come out good for me, and even their lemon curd recipe takes just yolks

this is the recipe from JoC

1-2/3 cups yield

3 large eggs

1/3 cup sugar

grated zest from 1 lemon

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

6 tablespoons buter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

[JAZ]

I made two batches of lemon bars (using Rose Beranbaum's recipe, which is my standard for curd) and something odd happened to the second batch as the bars were cooking. The curd developed a white sort of foamy layer on top.

This happened one other time to me ages ago, at which point someone told me I might have whisked too much air into the curd. Since then, I've been careful to mix more gently, and until today, I'd never had a recurrence.

Anyone know why this happens? It's not a big deal since the top can be covered with powdered sugar, but they're for a class, and I'd like to be able to tell my students why it happened to one batch and not the other.

[Lior]

uhm... I used frozen lemon juice concentrate with mint leaves infused...

[muse]

The best and easiest Meyer lemon curd recipe I have ever used, I found on http://www.eddyvandammeusa.com/2009/12/meyer-lemon-tarts/ . The method is like none I have ever seen and it works fantastic.

[lironp]

The white foam happened to me a few times as well, I think I incorporated too much air when whisking at the beginning. I switched to using a spatula instead (which involved an interesting experiment of me finding out the hard way which of my spatulas was made out of silicone, and which out of plastic ) and one thing I did notice is that when I heated it enough and the mixture thickened, the white foam did get incorporated eventually

[jenc]

The best and easiest Meyer lemon curd recipe I have ever used, I found on http://www.eddyvandammeusa.com/2009/12/meyer-lemon-tarts/ . The method is like none I have ever seen and it works fantastic.

whoa. thanks for the recipe and site!!

[jeremyn]

Does anyone know, roughly, what maximum temperature I can bring my lemon curd to before it begins to scramble? I'm hoping to make my lemon tart set a little more firmly. I'll start experimenting today, but can anyone give me any estimate for this first (measured) experiment? 170-180F? The proportions are roughly 1/2 cup lemon juice to 2 eggs + 2 yolks.

[Dave the Cook]

Mixed eggs set up at about 165°F. You'll probably get a few more degrees from the extra yolks (yolks handle more heat than whites) and the lemon-juice dilution. At 180°F, you'll have scrambled eggs.­

[chiantiglace]

actually, that all depends on agitation and pressure. Put the egg protein in a vacuum and spin at speeds up to mach 2 and you can raise the temperature well above 250F (which is the temperature that even the most stubborn of pathogens cannot handle)

But who does that right?

But seriously, with very vigorous and consistent agitation the proteins can reach higher temps than 180 just by hand, just don't push it.

Edited April 12, 2010 by chiantiglace (log)

[Brianemone]

Does anyone know, roughly, what maximum temperature I can bring my lemon curd to before it begins to scramble? I'm hoping to make my lemon tart set a little more firmly. I'll start experimenting today, but can anyone give me any estimate for this first (measured) experiment? 170-180F? The proportions are roughly 1/2 cup lemon juice to 2 eggs + 2 yolks.

Have you looked at changing the ratio of ingredients? Adding a little more butter would give a firmer finish when cooled

[Edward J]

...Adding a little more butter would give a firmer finish when cooled

Yup. Or if you want to be sneaky, sub clarified butter for regular, or if you have the $$ sub cocoa butter for some of the regular butter