Martha Stewart's Ca. 1995 Best Lemon Curd

Step 1

Beat the egg yolks until well blended and lemon yellow in colour. Strain the egg yolks through a sieve into a medium-size heavy saucepan. (Sieving removes any shells or albumen; heavy saucpan prevents curdling.).

Step 2

Add the sugar and lemon juice, stir to combine, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 10-15 minutes. DO NOT HURRY THE PROCESS OR THE EGGS WILL CURDLE!

Step 3

Cook until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and immediately pour through another sieve to catch any "scrambled egg bits". Pour into a heat proof 4 cup measuring cup and stir in the cold butter pieces, which cools down the mixture quickly.

Step 4

Add the rind, continue stirring until well-blended.

Step 5

Transfer to whatever storage container you want: either a large one or several samll ones.

Step 6

Shelf Life: MUST BE REFRIGERATED! Keeps 2 weeks.

Step 7

Variations:.

Step 8

Lime Curd: substitute lime juice and increase grated lime peel to 2 tablespoons.

Step 9

Orange Curd: Use orange juice, decrease sugar to 2/3 cup. 1 tablespoon orange peel.

Step 10

Grapefruit Curd: Use grapefruit juice, same sugar and zest as lemon curd.