Home Cooking & Good Spirits
A Citrusy Winter Treat
Lemon curd is easy to make and is perfect for entertaining, gift-giving, or enjoying on a scone with a cup of tea.

Several years ago, food stylist Leslie Ware and her husband, Jesse, took a fall trip to England’s charming Cotswolds region. “Fall in England can be damp, and in every country house we visited, a particular pleasure was having tea at 4 p.m. in front of the fire,” Leslie says. Few rituals approach the civility of an English tea, and Leslie loves to recall all the gratifying details: the silver trays and tea services, the scones and tarts, the lemons studded with cloves, the bowls of clotted cream and the homemade lemon curd.

Fruit curds are thick, smooth, custardlike spreads made from fruit juice, butter, eggs and sugar. While gourmet and specialty shops carry many flavors—strawberry, nectarine, mango and banana are among the more exotic—lemon curd is the traditional, English classic. You can use fruit curds at the breakfast table as you would jam, spreading them on toast, muffins or scones. Or they can become part of a dessert—as a filling for tarts and pies, spread between layers of sponge cake; as a fruit dip; or as a topping for pudding or a cake glaze.

When Leslie came home, she found that making her own lemon curd went a long way in re-creating that lovely English ritual (even if we Americans are loathe to stop everything mid-afternoon for conversation and a cup of tea). Now is a marvelous time of year to make such a treat, Leslie says, because citrus fruit is at its peak and because, as we settle in for winter, we could all enjoy the brilliant citrus color. Fruit curd is relatively easy to make and keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator. Its many uses will make it a great addition to your entertaining and gift-giving repertoire.

Leslie suggests choosing lemons that are brightly colored and firm to the touch without any blemishes or discolorations. She also advises beating the mixture thoroughly after each addition and heating the curd evenly, without boiling it, to avoid separation or curdling of the ingredients.

Lemon Curd Recipe

Anne Downey, who has a Ph.D. in English from the University of New Hampshire, writes features and book reviews for a variety of publications. She can be reached at amdowney@comcast.net.

Leslie Ware is one of the food stylists for public television’s Ciao Italia and has styled many Seacoast functions and projects. She lives in southern Maine.