Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd is made of sugar (you don’t want to know how much), butter, eggs, and lemon juice and zest. It’s almost like Lemon Pie Filling, except because it doesn’t use a powdered thickener such as cornstarch, it is less jelly-like.

It is thick and spreadable, and a light to medium yellow colour.

It’s usually described as a custard flavoured with lemon. You can also buy (or make) Orange Curd or Lime Curd.

Cooking Tips

You can use it as a filling or topping for baked goods (good as a topping for a plain cheesecake, for instance). It can be used as a filling for tarts, but it’s not quite firm enough to use for something bigger such as a pie — use Lemon Pie Filling instead for that. It is also spread at the table on buns, muffins, scones or toast.

History Notes

As of 2004, Gales Lemon Curd has been made by Premier Foods in Histon, Cambridgeshire (currrent as of 2006). Previously, it was made in in Hadfield, near Glossop, Derbyshire.

Language Notes

In New Zealand, it is called “Lemon Honey” (granted the recipes for Lemon Curd never involve any honey, but then nor do they ever involve any curd.)