The Meyer lemons are coming into their prime now. Fortunately, the frost that we had last week didn't do any harm to the tree or the fruit. A friend who lives 1/2 mile away and about 600 feet lower, nearly on the valley floor, was not so lucky. She said her lemon tree was frozen pretty badly. There was a freeze 2 years ago that did damage my lemon tree, just before we bought the house. It took a year, but the tree recovered completely and I had a nice crop of lemons last winter.
The Meyer variety seems to ripen lemons year round, but the primary crop is in the winter. So, I've been taking advantage of the bounty and making some holiday goodies featuring the lemons. Here's one particularly easy and tasty treat. One thing to keep in mind, if you substitute regular lemon juice for Meyer lemon juice you may want to increase the amount of sugar since the Meyers are not as sour and this recipe is already fairly tangy.
Meyer Lemon Curd
1 cup meyer lemon juice
1 cup sugar
peel from 1 meyer lemon, removed with a vegetable peeler
3/4 cup butter
4 large eggs
Put the lemon juice, sugar, lemon peel, and butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Cook, stirring with a silicone spatula or a spoon until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts.
Whisk the eggs lightly in a separate bowl, don't over beat, you don't want a lot of air bubbles. Stir in about a cup of the warm lemon mixture to temper the eggs, then stir the egg mixture into the rest of the lemon mixture. Cook over simmering water, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (160 F.). Strain through a seive into a clean bowl and discard the peels.
Ladle into hot, sterilized 1 cup canning jars and cap with scalded new lids and rings. Cool and then refrigerate. Should keep in the refrigerator for at least a couple of weeks if the lids seal properly.
Makes 3 cups.
I made a holiday bread with , of course, lemon zest in it. It also has plenty of butter, eggs, sugar, and raisins too. The curd is delicious on it.
More Meyer lemon recipes to come, couldn't waste those lovely peels. No time to post them right now though.
Happy holidays!
Mmmm, sounds very interesting. Thanks for the idea:) Jan
ReplyDeleteYet another tasty-sounding recipe I am going to have to try. I don't think I've ever had lemon curd before.. This blog of yours really is expanding my palate. :-)
ReplyDeleteJan, happy to provide some inspiration! Let me know what you make.
ReplyDeleteSusan, there is plenty of store bought lemon curd to be found, but the Meyers make the best in my opinion. Do you grow Meyer lemons?
Oooh, I want to try this curd. Sounds refreshing.
ReplyDelete