Thursday, January 15, 2009

Texas Lemon Curd From Arizona Meyer Lemons

My one reader may remember me mentioning that last week my Mom & Dad delivered a half ton, or more, of various citrus to me when they were visiting. They pretty much have an orchard in their Arizona yard, growing grapefruits, oranges and lemons.

The lemons are Meyers, those being a cross-breed, combining oranges and lemons, thus making a sweeter lemon.

The oranges and grapefruits seem to be doing fine, but the lemons seem to be getting to the point that they need to be used.

When I first got these Meyer lemons I did not realize they were lemons. They look sort of like a distorted orange that isn't ripe yet. Mistaking one for being an orange, and peeling it and trying to eat it, was when it was discovered these were lemons.

So, this morning I Googled for info about what I could make out of these lemons. Most recipes appeared to be beyond my skill level, things like lemon meringue pie. But, I came upon one recipe that looked like it was something I could do.

Lemon Curd.

Microwaveable Lemon Curd.

I needed a cup of lemon juice, the zest from the lemons, a cup of sugar, a 1/4 cup of butter and 3 eggs.

First thing I had to figure out was what zest was and then how to get it off the lemons. My cheese grater seemed to work.

Then I had to figure out how to get the juice. My hand seemed to work just fine as a lemon squeezer.

After I'd squeezed a cup of lemon juice I strained out the seeds. I didn't have butter and didn't like the idea of using that much butter if I did have it. So, I figured olive oil might work. It's a healthier option than butter.

So, I stirred the ingredients til they seemed well mixed. Then put it in the microwave to cook at 1 minute intervals. During the first minute I started this blogging. I had 6 interruptions before the Lemon Curd had reached the prescribed texture where it stuck to the back of a metal spoon.

It's in the fridge chilling now. It seems to taste like the lemon part of lemon meringue pie, only more lemony. The lack of butter and use of olive oil seems to have done no harm.

Now, the recipe did not say what it is one uses Lemon Curd for. Can anyone help me with that?

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