Granny's Quick Lemon Curd (2024)

FAQs

How to tell if lemon curd is done? ›

Dip a spoon into the curd then run your finger over the back of it. If it leaves a clean line in the curd, it's cooked enough and ready to cool. Curd will thicken up more once cooled completely. Spoon into a container, cover and refrigerate.

Why is my lemon curd not thickening? Make sure to cook the curd until thickened and bubbling. Stir it frequently with a rubber spatula or whisk to make sure it doesn't get lumpy. Once it's cooked, add cold butter and stir until it melts and becomes smooth.

Lemon curd is a curious thing. It's kept in jars and sold in the jam aisle of the supermarket. Yet technically, lemon curd is more of a thick custard than a traditional preserve.

Lemon Curd should thick enough to coat the back of a spoon when it's hot and should thicken up to pudding-like consistency when it's chilled. The curd can take up to 10 minutes to thicken to the consistency of pourable pudding, so be patient (remember it will thicken more once it cools).

Overcooking will cause proteins to bond too tightly, squeezing water out from between them and giving them a rubbery, lumpy texture. If you over-heat the lemon curd, the egg proteins can coagulate and you will see little bits of cooked egg.

To check for thickness, dip a spoon into the mixture and run your finger across the back. If the line remains distinct, the curd is thick enough. Coating the back of a spoon: If the lemon curd coats the back of a spoon and doesn't run off, it's done.

If your yogurt doesn't set up properly the first time, try treating the failed “yogurt” like milk, and starting over. (Reheat it, add new starter, and incubate again.) The texture may suffer some, but it can save you having to throw the whole thing away.

But with this pro tip, you will be able to set curd faster. “Keep the curd bowl in a flour container and you will be able to set it faster,” MasterChef Pankaj Bhadouria said. According to Chef Sharma, using whole-fat milk, or standard pasteurised milk helps retain less water and thickens the curd faster.

The butter makes the lemon curd extra rich and creamy. And after you've chilled the lemon curd in the fridge for a while, the butter will firm up and make sure that the curd sets properly.

If you don't want to use lemon curd then we would suggest using an alternative flavour of fruit curd. We have seen passionfruit, rhubarb and tart orange (or Seville orange) curds being sold online in the UK. All of these flavours would go well with summer berries.

Can you buy lemon curd in America? ›

Lemon Curd | Trader Joe's.

Wilkin & Sons Tiptree Lemon Curd

The Wilkin & Sons curd was the clear winner for its smooth and creamy texture and "real lemon flavor," but the price tag raised eyebrows. The Wilkin & Sons curd was the clear winner for its smooth and creamy texture and "real lemon flavor," but the price tag raised eyebrows.

Although lemon curd uses egg yolks and/or egg whites, the final product shouldn't taste eggy. If it does, it may mean that you've overcooked your eggs. In saying that, traditional lemon curd does have a distinct after taste which doesn't sit well with some.

Why did my lemon curd split? The most common reason why your homemade lemon curd split is cooking the curd on too high temperature. Because lemon curd is an egg yolk based "sauce," it requires gently cooking so that the egg doesn't become scrambled.

Between the heat and whisking, lemon curd gets foamy while it's cooking. As the curd begins to thicken, the foam will start to settle down, and then the addition of the butter at the end of cooking eliminates the foam. So don't panic when you see foam, just keep whisking and cooking.

At around 170 F the curd will have thickened and you'll want to immediately remove it from the heat. Without a thermometer you'll know the curd is done when it's thickened all over (not just at the bottom – keep stirring to cook it evenly) and coats the back of a spoon.

Usually the temperature of milk determines how well your curd will set. Too cold or too hot temperature can make the curd setting process tougher. Firstly boil your milk properly and switch off the flame. Once the boiled milk cools down to 20 per cent, then the milk is ready to be set.

The color of the lemon curd is depending on the egg yolks that you use, and if the yolks color is more orange than yellow, then your lemon curd will turn dark yellow- orange color and not bright yellow.

There are majorly two reasons that curd turns sticky, firstly the bacteria culture used to make curd can impact the taste and texture. Secondly, if you keep the curd at a low temperature, it takes a lot of time to set as well as forms a slimy texture. This is because curd needs a slightly warm temperature to set.