When I was little and had a sore throat my grandmother would always make me a cup of hot lemon tea. Her tea was simply a few lemon slices simmered in water. That wonderful tart tea always made my throat feel better …and so began my love for lemons. From then on, I associated lemons with feeling good. 🙂 Today, I cooked a batch of Fresh Lemon Curd…it’s gonna be a good day!
Lemons
Lemons contain bioflavonoids and antioxidants. Grated lemon peel, or the zest, contains the phytonutrient d-limonene. D-limonene is found only in the oil of the peel and not in the flesh or juice of lemons. Limonoids have a high bioavailability (meaning your body absorbs them easily) and have been shown to help fight several types of cancers. The juice of lemons slows oxidation on avocados, apples and bananas…that’s proof of their power as an antioxidant!
To pick a good lemon choose one that is thin-skinned, heavy for its size and that have skin with a finely grained texture.
Lemon Nutrients:
- Vitamin C: 31 mg
- Potassium: 80 mg
Lemon Curd
This is a fast and easy method for making lemon curd. There are many recipes for making lemon curd but, I find if you add the ingredients to the pan and then turn on the heat you don’t have to worry about curdling. Plus, I love that you aren’t using a mixer or lots of bowls 😀
- 2 large lemons, (1/2 cup juice)
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and softened
- Juice and zest lemons, set aside.
- In a small bowl add eggs and salt. Whisk until eggs are thinned.
- Transfer eggs to a medium sauce pan. Add sugar, lemon juice, and zest. Turn heat on to medium and stir with plastic whisk or spoon. (Do not use metal)
- Add softened butter to pan. Stir constantly for 4-6 minutes or until curd has thickened.
- Remove from heat and transfer to glass jar or container with lid. Chill for 1 hour.
- Yield: 1 cup
I like a lemon curd that is not too sweet and has just the right amount of tartness. You just can’t substitute the flavor of fresh lemon juice when making lemon curd. I use an electric juicer to make sure I get every bit of juice out of these lemons.
You can use Fresh Lemon Curd as a dessert topping and on cookies, breads, muffins, scones, or tarts. I love when I open the refrigerator and see this jar of bright yellow. Something delicious is sure to come out of this spread that bursts with lemon flavor…
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[…] Fresh Lemon Curd and was super excited to make something with it. Feeling re-energize, I used my Fresh Lemon Curd to make cookies. These cookies are amazing! Perfect little bite size cookies bursting with fresh […]