My love affair with lemon curd started when my mom used to take me to Lisa’s Tea Treasures, where we would eat little tea sandwiches with cucumber and cream cheese, sip tea, and eat little biscuits slathered with tart, sweet lemon curd. There’s something about the taste that is meant to be savored.
Most people worry about canning curd, and they should. Curd includes eggs and butter (the base of anything fabulous) and most people don’t have an understanding of what that does to the acidity of a food. And, of course, the acidity is key to the safety of the canned product.
You can rely on this product to be safe. It was sourced from the National Center for Home Food Preservation, a division of the FDA. I adjusted the recipe in the following way: I used meyer lemons for optimal sweetness; and in order to produce a curd that was safe, I tested my fresh lemon juice for level of acidity, versus using bottled lemon juice.
I spent the day with my friend Valerie, and her daughter, canning curd (among other yummy citrus creations!) It was a blast. A very productive blast!
(makes four half pint jars of lemon curd) Ingredients: 2½ cups superfine sugar Directions: Prepare your jars and lids. Fill boiling water canner with water. Using a thermometer, preheat the water to 180°F by the time filled jars are ready to be added. Per the HFP website take caution: “Do not heat the water in the canner to more than 180°F before jars are added. If the water in the canner is too hot when jars are added, the process time will not be long enough. The time it takes for the canner to reach boiling after the jars are added is expected to be 25 to 30 minutes for this product. Process time starts after the water in the canner comes to a full boil over the tops of the jars.” Mix sugar and lemon zest in a bowl. Set aside. Prepare chilled butter. Prepare your double boiler, allowing the water in the bottom of the pan to boil gently. If you don’t have a double boiler, or are making a giant batch that won’t fit into a double boiler (like Val and I did!) you can improvise by boiling water gently in a pot and using a larger pot on top. Whisk the egg yolks and whole eggs together into the top of the double boiler (using it on a counter, not on top of the boiling water at this point). Slowly whisk in the sugar zest mixture, blending until well mixed and smooth. Add the lemon juice and butter pieces to the mixture. Put the top of the double boiler over the gently boiling water in the bottom of the pan. Stir gently but continuously with a rubber spatula to prevent the curd sticking from the pan. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches 170 degrees. Keep a thermometer close and take the temperature frequently. Remove the pan from the stove and place it on a dish cloth to protect your counter top. Continue to stir gently until the curd thickens. This will take about 5 minutes. Strain curd through a mesh strainer into a glass or stainless steel bowl; discard collected zest. Ladle hot, strained curd into hot, sterilized jars, filling to 1/2 inch of rim. Wipe jar rims clean. Cover with hot lids; firmly screw on rings, but do not force. Process in a boiling canner bath for 15 minutes at sea level (refer to the HFP site for times to process at other elevations. As with all canned food, let it sit for 24 hours, undisturbed, then test for proper seal.
Canned Meyer Lemon Curd
½ cup lemon zest
1 cup bottled lemon juice (I tested my own for acidity level)
¾ cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into pieces
7 large egg yolks
4 large whole eggs
Yeah! Lemon curd!
Store in a cool, dark place (away from light). Use canned lemon curd within 3 to 4 months. Browning and/or separation may occur with longer storage; discard any time these changes are observed.
Enjoy.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
How did you test the acidity and how did you know if it was the correct acidity? I have wanted to can lemon curd, and have now found a vegan one that I think would be really good. I’ve done plenty of water bath canning and pressure canning, so am experienced.
I had so much fun! I can’t wait to have another canning day. And that curd is super yum.
It’s going on my Fat Tuesday menu with beignets. Thanks Paige.
Hi Lavendarknits, you’ll want to use a ph Meter to test. Read this: http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/FN_Food_Safety_2008-01.pdf Here’s a good tester: http://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Instruments-98129-Conductivity-Tester/dp/B002ZG8L58/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299010620&sr=8-2 There are cheaper ones, though. =)
Watch out for the Canning Police! When I posted my recipe for lemon curd last October, I didn’t even include directions for canning but some lady came out from under a rock to tell me it wasn’t safe. She hadn’t seen the new NCHFP guidelines, and when I pointed them out she went crazy again because I’d – GASP! – altered their recipe.
I don’t buy that bottled lemon juice is the only way to go – fresh tastes so much better. I just add extra lemon or sugar and call it good. And I haven’t killed anyone yet.
Hahah! I hear you on the canning police! Really, the only reason the canned lemon juice is because of the consistency of the pH. If you test your fresh lemon juice for the pH prior, and it is under 3, you’re good. I think fresh is far superior as well (and seriously, I have a glut of lemons, I am not going to buy some commercial lemon juice!!!)
I’ll have to dig out & share w/you a recipe I have for cranberry curd. Makes great gifts from our NE home!
I would love to see the cranberry curd recipe and do you can it as well? My husband and I make a really good one but I have not tried to can it yet. I have seville oranges ordered to be picked in Feb for marmalade so I will check on the lemons you all have talked about. Sounds too fabulous to not try!
I will put the cranberry curd recipe up for tomorrow. It’s amazing. Best thing I’ve ever canned! I was very careful with that recipe and I’m confident it is a safe canning recipe (I compared it to the USDA’s lemon curd recipe, compared the amount of eggs/protein, the pH of cranberries vs lemons, etc.) I’ve also eaten many jars of this now (4 oz jars – and they are delish!). So I will put that up tomorrow!
(NorthEast, not Nebraska)
Most of the time, the ‘canning police’ are people, such as myself, who have been through the food safety training and have been ‘scared straight’ about safety and botulism.
Personally? I’d be skeeved about water bath canning custard or curd, but that’s me and the botulism horror stories I’ve been told.
I totally understand that, Rachel. Safety is very important. This recipe is actually from the FDA’s canning approved recipe site. I’ve made several batches of it the last two years and I feel pretty good about it. But I know the egg thing weirds me out.
You owe me a cranberry curd recipe!
Rachel, I have been through those classes myself and am strict enough at following the rules that I have been laughed at. If you really embrace those rules, don’t fear curds. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has a tested recipe for lemon curd, and those are the folks who did the research that the extension agency classes are based on. Further, lemon the high amounts of acid and sugar contribute to the safety.
When testing the juice for acidity couldn’t you use litmus paper? Also could the acidity of the juice be adjusted using citric acid powder. I have used that in place of lemon juice in canning before.
Thanks
No on the litmus paper. Can’t be used with liquid. And yes on the citric acid.