Homemade Lemon Curd Recipe - Happy Foods Tube (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my lemon curd set? ›

If your lemon curd hasn't thickened, it may not have been heated enough. It can take up to 30 minutes of constant stirring to cook lemon curd, especially if it's a large batch. Remember that curd will thicken more once cooled. If your cooled curd is not thick enough, you can reheat it to thicken.

It's quite sour at this point but it gets creamier as it refrigerates. You can refrigerate the lemon curd for 1-2 weeks, OR freeze it for a few months.

Keep in mind that Lemon Curd will continue to thicken after it has time to chill. While it's hot on the stove, it should be the consistency of pourable pudding, thick enough to run a clear path along the back of a spoon. Once it's chilled, it should be the consistency of cold pudding.

To can the lemon curd, sterilize the jars, rings, tongs, and ladle in boiling water for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Remove the hot jars to a kitchen towel, and fill with hot lemon curd, leaving a 1/2″ head space. While filling the jars, soak the new lids in the hot water.

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.

Place plastic wrap directly on top of the curd and let set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving. Store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. Lemon curd can also be frozen for several month.

If your lemon curd turned green, it likely had a reaction to something metal. Avoid using a copper or aluminum pan as those will react with the lemon juice and cause the discoloration in the lemon curd, and could even cause a slightly metallic aftertaste.

I cook mine for about 2 minutes because I like thick lemon curd. Test the thickness by dipping the back of a spoon into your lemon curd and drag your finger across it. If it holds the shape without dripping off too quickly, it's done!

Shelf Life: Prepared lemon curd can be frozen for up to 1 year without quality changes when thawed. To thaw, place container in a refrigerator at 40°F or lower for 24 hours before intended use. After thawing, consume within 4 weeks.

Make sure you don't let the curd come to a boil at any point, and don't stop stirring at any point either, because that will lead to the eggs curdling, and the curd will taste like scrambled eggs.

Why is my lemon curd frothy? ›

Follow the recipe exactly for best texture. If you use too many whole eggs, the egg white will cause foaming and the curd will end up foamy.

Lemon curd can split if it's cooked on too high of a heat. The higher heat can scramble the eggs creating an undesirable texture. Curds are best cooked low and slow!

Fresh lemon curd will keep for one to two weeks when stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

Freezing and Preserving Homemade Lemon Curd

The best way to keep it longer than four weeks in the refrigerator is to transfer the curd to freezer containers (leaving about 1/2-inch of room on the top), then freeze it.

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.

Fill cooled curd into freezer container(s), leaving ½-inch headspace, and freeze immediately. Shelf Life: Prepared lemon curd can be frozen for up to 1 year without quality changes when thawed. To thaw, place container in a refrigerator at 40°F or lower for 24 hours before intended use.

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.

Burr explains that custard, especially ones that are heavy on fruit, have a tendency to split as a result of the moisture content and too-high oven temperatures. This is the chief issue you'll encounter when baking a lemon tart.

All the micelles come closer and aggregate to form gelatinous material called curd. When lemon juice is added to milk, the milk becomes sour. The bacteria in milk convert the lactose sugar into lactic acid which forms curdles. Thus, the curdling of milk is due to the coagulation of micelles of casein protein.