LEMON CURD

Good Afternoon to you,

It has poured down with rain all day, but I am determined not to be down hearted, as today, my thoughts are turning to sunnier climes. I am going to be transported back to the warmth of Cyprus and in my mind, I am going into the garden to pick lemons from my lemon tree. Then,  I am going to turn them into Phyllis' Lemon Curd.

In truth, I have collected the lemons from my fruit bowl, but it is alright to dream. I have gathered together the jars. They have been sterilised and now they are ready to be filled with  luscious, yellow, lemon curd,

Pop your apron on and let us begin,

THE INGREDIENTS

3 large, unwaxed lemons

2 1/2 oz  (70g) butter

7 oz  (200g) sugar

3 large eggs

THE METHOD

Wash, then dry the lemons

Finely grate the rind from the lemons

Juice the lemons

and strain the lemon juice.

Half fill a pan with water 
and bring to the boil

Choose  a bowl which will sit on top

of the pan but will not touch the
simmering water.

Place the strained lemon juice into
the bowl,

add the butter,

and the sugar.

Stir over a low heat until the sugar has

dissolved.

 Remove from the heat.

Whisk the three eggs together in a medium

size bowl.

Very slowly, 
pour the lemon mixture into

the whisked eggs.
  
I found adding a ladle at a time worked well,
 but it is important that you keep stirring
 whilst adding the lemon mixture 
to the eggs, as you
do not want the eggs to curdle.

I ladled with my left hand
and stirred with my right hand.

Return  the lemon mixture to the original bowl.

Return the pan of water to the heat until

the water is just simmering. 

Place your bowl back

on top of the saucepan and keep stirring,

until the lemon curd coats the
 back of the spoon.

Just as a guideline,
it took me 10 minutes of  constant stirring
for me to achieve the result I needed.

Pour into a sterilized jar
and cover with a waxed disc.

Leave to cool before labelling and
covering with a lid.

Store in the fridge.

Now, I need to tell you, that you will need only one jar for this lemon curd, as Phyllis' recipe did not say how many jars of lemon curd the ingredients would make. I had four at the ready, and this proved too  many. Actually, I do not mind, as lemon curd does not have the same long life as jams, so this pot of lemon curd will be perfect for George and I. 

Remember the juiced lemons, well do not throw them away, cut them into quarters and add them to the water which is left in the pan, and bring to a simmer. Your kitchen will have a lovely, fresh, lemon smell.

Just a word of warning, only do this if you are staying in the kitchen, and before you leave the kitchen, remember to turn off the cooker.  As you do not want the  water to evaporate and burn.

I tend to have the lemons simmering when I am tidying up the kitchen.

Making this lemon curd was an interesting exercise as I found, I had to write out the instructions to make it easier for me to follow. When you read the recipe from Phyllis' cookery book the recipe and the method is about 1 1/2 inches by 2 inches in size, and in small print, making it difficult to follow the recipe.

Also, the information states that it takes 10-15 minutes to make the Lemon Curd, I realise I was taking photographs as I cooked, but it took me about an hour and 10 minutes.  I think the 10-15 minutes was the time it took once you had the eggs whisked together and the lemons juiced, grated and ready to use.

This jar of Lemon Curd has been tucked into the back of the fridge, where George rarely ventures, he tends to look for "scrumptions" to eat which sit at the front of the shelves, so I am hoping I can keep this jar until next week, because,

next Sunday I am going to be baking some scones and then I will be slathering them with this lemon curd, well that is as long as it stays hidden at the back of the fridge. 

As yet, I have not decided whether the recipe will come from Ivy or Phyllis' cookery book, so I am going to compare recipes.

So take care and I will see you later in the week.

This week I will be joining,

Cathy at A Peek into My Paradise

Angela at Hickory Trail