“With its perfect balance of acidity and mellow sweetness, lemon is always the most popular of the curds. As well as spreading it on toast and other things, I like to swirl a couple of tablespoons through the uncooked batter of a lemon cake, to create the ultimate fullness of flavour and crumb.
“In my jam business days, it was lemon curd that we exported to more countries than any other product. We once received a letter from a very satisfied customer who had even been using it as a face cream – she said it was amazing,” recalls queen of jams, Pam Corbin.
“Although lemons are available throughout the year, they are at their very best from January to April. To make your pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (or any Tuesday) really special, you could spread a tablespoon of lemon and honey curd over them, perhaps with a discretional drizzle of Limoncello.”
Lemon and honey curd
Equipment
- Jars with twist-on lids
- Saucepan
- Heatproof bowl
- Cooking thermometer
- Balloon whisk
- Spatula
- Wide-necked jug
Ingredients
- 2 lemons finely grated zest
- 250 ml lemon juice 5-7 lemons
- 125 g unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 100 g honey
- 4 large eggs well beaten
Method
- Sterilise your jars and twist-on lids. Have ready a pan of simmering water that your heatproof bowl will fit snugly over without touching the water.
- Put the lemon zest, juice, butter, sugar and honey into the bowl and place over the pan of simmering water. Lightly stir the mixture from time to time until the butter has barely melted – the temperature on a cooking thermometer should be about 50°C.
- Carefully pour the eggs into the lemon-butter mixture and whisk briskly with a balloon whisk for a minute or so until well combined. Continue to cook the mixture for nine to 10 minutes, scraping down the sides every so often with a spatula and giving the mixture a quick whisk every minute or so until it is thick, the surface is glass-like and the temperature has reached 78°C. Remove from the heat.
- Tip the curd into a wide-necked jug with a good pouring lip, making sure you scrape around the sides of the bowl, then fill the warm jars to the brim; seal at once.
- Store in a cool place for up to four weeks. Once opened keep in the fridge and eat within three to four weeks.
Nutrition
Pam The Jam: The Book Of Preserves by Pam Corbin, photography by Mark Diacono, is published by Bloomsbury.
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