Lemon Curd--Perfect for Gifts!

I am making lemon curd today.  Here's my process!

The tricky thing about making lemon curd (other than your hands cramping from hand-squeezing one hundred seven lemons) is typically you are adding + mixing all the ingredients in the pot over medium-low heat, and when you dump gently + lovingly add the required eggs and egg yolks, they sometimes cook a little too much, which then requires straining out the little bits of cooked egg white that didn't blend perfectly.  

Also you must use fresh lemon juice.  I have used the cheap stuff in the big green bottle (shhh), or a mixture of fresh and not-so-artisanal-bottled-juice and it still worked theoretically, but didn't thicken as nicely and had a bitter edge I found jarring.


  

So an original recipe makes approximately 2 cups, which for personal consumption is PLENTY (unless you are using it as a filling for pie or something), but if you want to put it in jars, you need a bit more.  This made enough to fill 3 quart jars with a little left over to lick off the spoon.  

Note that none of these ingredients are measured yet... don't get so caught up looking at the photo that you accidentally put two full sticks of butter in with the sugar and then have to pull it out, wipe off the sugar as best you can, and then save it to put on french toast or pancakes at some later date.  Just hypothetically speaking.

Beat the butter and sugar together, then slowly add your eggs and yolks.

It looks so beautiful.  I want to put my face in it.

Don't, though.

Add the lemon juice.  It will turn ugly and curdled.

This is to be expected.  It's lemon juice.  It does that to your face if you drink it plain too.

Pour the lemon-butter-sugar-egg mixture into a heavy bottomed sauce pan, and heat over low until smooth.  This took about 5-10 minutes.

Then turn it up to medium and heat until the thermometer says 170'ish and the mixture has thickened.  

DO NOT BOIL IT.  Gross.  

Then you will have permanently curdled lemon curd.

By the way, this took a little less than 15 minutes.

This is what the back of the spoon looks like if you run your finger down it, burn your finger, and then lick your finger.

Also the thick line indicates that it's done.

Add the lemon zest.  Mmm.  Smells divine. Maybe heaven will be all shiny and gold and smell like lemon zest.

I put the finished curd straight into the jars, sealed them up, and then gave two of them away to a friend who popped by this afternoon.  The last one I stuck in the fridge.  And then I licked out the pan.  

(After it had cooled.  I learned from my encounter with the spoon)

Note: these are not hot-processed, and will not keep at room temperature.  They WILL, however, keep nicely in the freezer if you want to ever-so-slowly eat your lemon curd, one scone at a time.

I learned about beating the sugar + eggs + butter + lemon juice ahead of time at the original recipe, which goes on about scientific details that explain why this helps keep the eggs from overcooking.  Follow the link to find the genius folks who first discovered this great tip.

My original source for this recipe...