After my Mom passed away 6 years ago I took with me one lonely box of old recipes and some of them I have transcribed here under “My Mother’s Kitchen”. My Mom’s Lemon Curd though I couldn’t find. But then as I unpacked a random box of books last weekend the recipe card fell out. How it got there I haven’t a clue. But wow, I was happy to see it. My Grandmother had typed up the recipe with her cursive typewriter (wow, I am dating myself). So the recipe dates back to my Great Grandmother.
I hadn’t had this recipe in a long time, maybe 20 years. As I made a batch I realized I have more patience then I did when I was younger. The younger me didn’t understand the need to stand over a stove and slowly whisk a recipe till it is perfectly thick. I get it now. I am grateful I had the chance to carry on this recipe and well…even alter it a bit. I used organic butter and sugar and locally grown eggs. The taste was amazing – I had to can it or I would have eaten too much of it! The littlest jam jars are the best, tiny pots of yellow happiness to have in fall!
Lemon Curd
Ingredients:
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 3 whole eggs, preferably organic and local
- 1 cup granulated sugar, preferably organic
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice (3 large lemons)
- Zest of 3 lemons
Jars & Lids –
Wash and rinse the jars; put them into a big stockpot; cover the jars with water and bring to a boil; turn off the heat. Let stand in hot water until you are ready to fill.
Let the rings and bands stand in hot water until you are ready to screw them on the jars. (Do not boil these, use new lids each time, bands can be reused.)
Directions:
Beat the eggs until light in a bowl, add the sugar and beat in, set aside.
Set up a double boiler over medium heat, bring the water to a boil, add the butter and melt. Whisk the eggs in, whisking constantly for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and zest, whisk constantly for 3 minutes or until smooth and thickened.
To preserve –
Empty the water out of your jars, fill to ¼” of the top. Wipe the rims with a new damp paper towel, removing any spilled jam, especially on the rim.
Place a lid on top and tighten a band around each jar, place them into a pot of boiling water, using a canning rack to lower in. Make sure all jars are upright and that jars are fully submerged, with at least 2″ of water above..
Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Take out carefully using a jar lifter or tongs. Have a clean kitchen towel on the counter, place each jar on it and let cool for at least 6 hours, overnight is better. Listen for the “popping sound” and keep track of how many times you hear it. Check after cooling that the lid is firm when pressed on, if it pops up and down, it isn’t sealed. If that happens, refrigerate that jar and use within a week.
For best taste use within 3 months of canning, lemon curd can darken over time.
Makes 4 4-ounce jars & a little left over for immediate indulging.
At the farmers market on Saturday I found half flats of last-of-the-season strawberries and I indulged in them! We came home and made jam within a couple of hours. It was a first for me – making jam with honey, and locally grown raw honey as well. My love of Pomonas Universal Pectin
Strawberry Honey Jam
Ingredients:
- 6 cups ripe strawberries (measure after mashing, see below), it was about 5 pounds
- 1½ cups raw honey
- 3 tsp Pomonas Universal Pectin
- 3 tsp calcium water (see below)
Directions:
Jars & Lids –
Wash and rinse the jars; put them into a big stockpot; cover the jars with water and bring to a boil; turn off the heat. Let stand in hot water until you are ready to fill.
Let the rings and bands stand in hot water until you are ready to screw them on the jars. (Do not boil these, use new lids each time, bands can be reused.)
For the strawberries –
Rinse the berries and hull them. Mash the berries with a potato masher chunky-style, measure into a large saucepan. To make the calcium water, mix ½ tsp calcium with ½ cup water. Set aside, you will only need 3 tsp of it, the rest can be refrigerated for later use. Add 3 teaspoons of the calcium water to the berries, stir well.
For the honey & pectin –
Measure the honey into a separate bowl and thoroughly mix the pectin into it, set aside.
To Cook –
Bring the berries to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour the pectin-honey mixture into the boiling jam slowly and carefully, stirring as you add. Stir vigorously 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin.
Let the berries return to a boil and remove from the heat. Pectin gels completely when thoroughly cool, so don’t worry if your jam looks loose while still hot.
To preserve –
Empty the water out of your jars, fill to ¼” of the top. Wipe the rims with a new damp paper towel, removing any spilled jam, especially on the rim.
Place a lid on top and tighten a band around each jar, place them into a pot of boiling water, using a canning rack to lower in. Make sure all jars are upright and that jars are fully submerged, with at least 2″ of water above..
Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Take out carefully using a jar lifter or tongs. Have a clean kitchen towel on the counter, place each jar on it and let cool for at least 6 hours, overnight is better. Listen for the “popping sound” and keep track of how many times you hear it. Check after cooling that the lid is firm when pressed on, if it pops up and down, it isn’t sealed. If that happens, refrigerate that jar and use within a couple of weeks.
Once cooled, store the jars in a pantry for up to 12 months. Once opened, store in the refrigerator and use up within 3 weeks.
Made 7 8-ounce jars and 6 4-ounce jars total.
~Sarah
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