Sous Vide Lemon Curd Recipe | Savoring The Good® (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you overcook lemon curd? ›

What happens if I over-cook lemon curd? Overcooking will cause proteins to bond too tightly, squeezing water out from between them and giving them a rubbery, lumpy texture. If you over-heat the lemon curd, the egg proteins can coagulate and you will see little bits of cooked egg.

Dip a spoon into the curd then run your finger over the back of it. If it leaves a clean line in the curd, it's cooked enough and ready to cool. Curd will thicken up more once cooled completely. Spoon into a container, cover and refrigerate.

Trouble shooting: Most Lemon Curds are runny because they don't get cooked long enough, to 170 degrees F, to thicken the egg yolks – so cook on! If your curd isn't thickened after 10 minutes, or up to 15 if using a double boiler, then increase the temperature of the stove slightly – and don't stop whisking!

Use Sufficient Egg Yolks

Lemon curd has traces of yellow in it naturally, but its striking golden colour comes from the yolks. Also, incorporating whole eggs is not preferred since the egg whites cause the lemon curd to become lighter.

Additionally, a sour or off smell is a good indicator that it has turned bad.

A metallic aftertaste is usually the consequence of the lemon curd coming into contact with a metal (especially while it's hot). This could be a metal whisk, a metal bowl, a metal (or metal-coated) saucepan, or a metal sieve.

How to fix it: To thicken runny lemon curd, put the curd back into your saucepan, place over the lowest possible heat, and stir constantly. The curd will thin out at first as the butter melts, but it will eventually begin to thicken back up.

But WHY did the Lemon Curd scramble? I learned that day, based on the scientific fact that eggs do not curdle when cooked in the presence of starch, and because Lemon Curd has no starch (such as flour or cornstarch), it will curdle when the eggs get too hot.

Between the heat and whisking, lemon curd gets foamy while it's cooking. As the curd begins to thicken, the foam will start to settle down, and then the addition of the butter at the end of cooking eliminates the foam. So don't panic when you see foam, just keep whisking and cooking.

If your lemon curd turned green, it likely had a reaction to something metal. Avoid using a copper or aluminum pan as those will react with the lemon juice and cause the discoloration in the lemon curd, and could even cause a slightly metallic aftertaste.

Why does my curd taste like egg? ›

Although lemon curd uses egg yolks and/or egg whites, the final product shouldn't taste eggy. If it does, it may mean that you've overcooked your eggs. In saying that, traditional lemon curd does have a distinct after taste which doesn't sit well with some.

Always beat the butter with sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and zest before cooking. This will prevent the curd from tasting eggy. Use a pan with a heavy bottom when cooking the curd. Stay away from aluminum pan.

Gently heat the curdled mixture over low to medium heat in a saucepan. Keep stirring continuously to avoid further curdling and to help the ingredients re-emulsify.

It keeps the protein strands far enough apart from one another to increase the denaturation temperature window. In other words, it makes it much easier to get the right texture. After gently cooking the curd, it will begin to coat the back of a spoon more thickly than prior to heating.

My lemon curd is too sour.

If you measured correctly according to the instructions and still feel it is too sour, you can add about ¼ cup more sugar next time you make it.

Why did my lemon tart crack? The oven was either too hot or the tart was baked for too long. I recommend using an oven thermometer for baking to determine if your oven temperature is accurate.