Sometimes Lemons are the Bestest Fruits - Lemon Curd for Weekend Brekkie or High Tea

Before we start you need to know some things about my family.  My mother was a marvellous plain cook, she could make proper pastry... you need to have seen her making puff or flaky pastry at 10.00pm on Christmas Eve in the days before frozen pastry, or pursing her lips at at a recalcitrant steak and kidney pudding that was refusing to leave its bowl.  However, her  major forte was the jam making BUT this was done on an industrial scale... for weeks, nay months we would collect the jam jars and she would smuggle extra bags of sugar used to convert Summer fruits into Autumn and Winter jewels into the larder.  


We are moving towards the Spring... so what better to make for Breakfast or High Tea on Sunday than some really special Lemon Curd and just enough to fill a couple of jars rather than trying to set up as alternate to the Tiptree Jam makers?

You will need:
2 lemons - unwaxed
2oz / 50g Unsalted butter
4oz / 110g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs and an egg yolk (use the left over egg white for meringues)

Equipment:
Weighing scales
Lemon Juicer
Grater
Tea strainer
Bowl
Wooden spoon
Jug
Small saucepan
Fork or whisk
Kilner jars or other jam jars... but have a small Colman's Mustard jar on stand by


Turn on your oven to gas mark 4, 180'C or 350F, wash your jars and pop them into the oven for at least 15 mins to sterilise them unless you enjoy scooping through nasty looking blue mould and spending some time courtesy of your local hospital.


Beat your eggs together, and then strain them through your tea strainer, yes, I know this sounds odd but you want to to get rid of the squirly white bit called the Chalazae (bet you want me on your pub quiz team now) and putting the beaten eggs through a tea strainer is the most efficient way of doing this.  Put the eggs on the side and now start in earnest.


Grate both your lemons and squeeze the juice from them into a jug.


In your pan melt the butter gently, then add in the sugar and stir it in.


Now gently stir in the lemon juice and zest of the lemon, smells  great doesn't it?  Now add the eggs and stir them in... make sure that the heat is really low as you do not want to end up with lemon flavoured scrambled eggs


Over a low heat and using your  wooden spoon  keep stirring it... don't be tempted to wander off, keep stirring and you will feel it start to thicken.  You may also notice that the mixture is getting shiny, this is the oils from the lemon zest releasing themselves into your mix as it warms up. You think it will never thicken but stick with it and do not be tempted to turn it up... it will start to thicken, and what you want it to do is coat the back of spoon and not move... bit like a teenager who will not be moved from a sofa.  


Pour it into your jars and leave it to cool. This is where that little Coleman's Jar comes into its own for leftovers/tester pot.  Do not be tempted to put the lid on when the jar just feels warm because this will just allow condensation to form, which will create another mould related to the blue stuff mentioned above.


When it is cold, seal the jars, label it up with the variety, the date and your name.  Then pop it into the fridge and see if it will last the weekend!  The curd should last a couple of weeks.

You can make a lime curd, using four limes and more sugar (taste it to make sure) but same amount of eggs and butter.  Only warning is that it is not a pretty colour, a bit khaki if I am honest, so consider cheating with a touch of food colouring!


I doubled up the mix as I have a couple of friends, who have asked for a jar which will be doled out tomorrow. 

And just to help you stir your mix, here are Peter, Paul and Mary singing Lemon Tree.