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Meyer Lemon Curd

Source of Recipe

From "Food in Jars" by Marisa McClellan


Recipe Introduction

"The first time I tasted lemon curd, I fell hard. I was eleven years old and my family had received a jar of homemade lemon curd from some California cousins. They kept chickens in their backyard with lemon trees out front, and so made jars of lemon curd using these homegrown ingredients to send to friends and family for the holidays. I ate the bulk of that jar in stealthy spoonfuls."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ ¼ cup finely grated Meyer lemon zest (about 4 medium Meyer lemons)
â—¦ 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
â—¦ 4 large egg yolks
â—¦ 2 large eggs
â—¦ ½ cup Meyer lemon juice
â—¦ 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes


Recipe

Prepare a boiling water bath and two half-pint jars. Place the lids in a small saucepan, cover them with water, and simmer over very low heat. Combine the lemon zest and sugar in a small bowl. Rub the zest into the sugar until it is fragrant and fully combined. Set aside.

Set up a double boiler, add 2 inches of water to the bottom pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Alternatively, set a heatproof mixing bowl over a medium saucepan filled with 2 inches of water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the surface of the water. Keeping the top half of the double boiler off the stove, combine the egg yolks and whole eggs and whisk them together. Add the zest and sugar combination and whisk in. Finally, add the lemon juice and stir until it is blended.

Add the butter and set the top of the double boiler over the simmering water. Switch to a silicone spatula and stir continually as the lemon curd cooks. Using a candy thermometer, monitor the temperature of the curd while you stir. As it approaches 190° to 200° F, it should start to thicken. One sign of doneness is that it will coat the back of your spatula without running or dripping. If it is slow to thicken but is approaching 210° F, remove the top portion of the double boiler and let it cool for a moment before returning to the heat for an additional minute or two of cooking. It typically takes 6 to 9 minutes for a curd to cook through. When the curd has thickened to the consistency of sour cream, it is done.

Remove the top half of the double boiler and stir off the heat. During this time, it will continue to thicken a bit. Strain the curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a 4-cup measure. The straining removes both the zest (which will have imparted a great deal of flavor to the curd during cooking time) and any bits of scrambled egg.

Pour the curd into the prepared jars, leaving a generous ½ inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 25 minutes. When the time is up, remove the canning pot from the heat and remove the lid. Let the jars sit in the pot for an additional 5 minutes. This helps to prevent the curd from reacting to the rapid temperature change and bubbling out of the jars.

Makes 2 half-pint jars