Did you know that there is no such a thing as a Meyer lemon anymore? Well, at least not as we know them. Officially, they haven't existed for about fifty years, when a virus attacked the Meyer lemon trees and they were banned in the United States.
Then in 1975, a new, "Improved" Meyer lemon tree was released that was virus-free, and people began planting them in backyards in America. And in Paris apartments, too. (More on that, later...)
Some think that the now-extinct Meyer lemons, and the new, Improved Meyer lemons, are a hybrid between oranges and lemons. But I've been told by my produce guru that no one is certain as to what the heck they are, exactly.
Because they are relatively fragile, these delicate citrus fruits don't ship well. You have to know someone with a tree, as they're usually not easily-found, commercially.
Yet I scored when a friend arrived in Paris, claiming to have not one—but two Improved Meyer lemons for me. I thought about making a small batch of sorbet or ice cream, but then realized that since there wouldn't be all that much juice from my two brilliant-yellow beauties, I wanted to extend it as much as possible.
And Improved Meyer lemon juice is sweeter than standard Eureka lemon juice, and the small amount might get lost in another dessert. So I decided to make a batch of creamy, tangy Improved lemon curd.
If you've never made, or tasted, lemon curd, you're in for a treat. In spite of its slightly off-putting name, it's made somewhat like a custard, but you can cook it directly on the stovetop, without tempering the eggs. It takes a few minutes of constantly stirring with a whisk over modest heat. Then, in about three or four minutes, right before your eyes, the mixture will magically thicken into silky, rich lemon curd.
When I was all done, I saved the Improved Meyer lemon seeds and was hoping to germinate them in my apartment to create my own little citronneraie. I didn't know if they would sprout, but followed some advice I found online; namely to sandwich them between a damp paper towel for a few weeks until they sprout. Unfortunately, after a couple of days, I noticed things inside looked a little dark. So I unfolded the essuie-tout and found the each seed covered with an unpleasant-looking...shall we say—growth, on the outside. (Hint: It wasn't a lemon tree sprout.)
So I guess I won't be whipping up any more Improved Meyer lemon curd anytime in the future, unless I find an Improved Meyer lemon tree somewhere in Paris. But that's probably not going to happen, unless someone with a bit more pluck than me at cultivating citrus takes on the task.
Am not sure what they'd call them here as the word for 'improve' in French is améliorer. In English, 'amelioration' means to add more sugar. And since these lemons are sweeter than standard lemons, that would be a French paradox. And
we certainly don't need any more of those around here.
Lemon CurdMakes 1 cup (240 g)
Here, I use a slightly dare-devil method for making curd by heating everything together over direct heat. If you're feeling intrepid, instead of increasing the heat in step #4, keep the heat very low, or cook the curd in a double-boiler; a bowl nested over a saucepan of simmering water.
If you're like me, and need to use regular lemons, use 1/2 cup (50 g) of sugar, as directed.
1/2 cup (125 ml) freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup (65 g) sugar (or 1/2 cup, 100 g, if using regular lemons)
2 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, cubed
1. Place a mesh strainer over a bowl, and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, egg yolks, eggs, and salt.
3. Add the butter cubes and set the pan over low heat, whisking constantly until the butter is melted.
4. Increase the heat and cook over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and just begins to become jelly-like. It's done when you lift the whisk and the mixture holds its shape when it falls back into the saucepan from the whisk.
5. Immediately press the curd through the strainer. Once strained, store the lemon curd in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to one week.
Serving: Lemon curd is wonderful spread on toast or crumpets. It can also be used as a cake filling and you can make a tangy lemon cream to serve alongside gingerbread by folding in an equal amount of whipped cream.
Related Links and Recipes
Improved Meyer Lemons (University of California)
Ortho's Citrus Guide (Amazon)
Citrus by Lance Walheim (Amazon)
Improved Meyer Lemons (Available online, from Melissa's)
Ameliorate means to improve in English too...(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ameliorate). Unless there's some sort of joke up there I'm missing...
Anyway, I've been wanting to make lemon curd, but thought the process was more complex. This looks easy. I can't wait to try it.
Avi: I was waiting for that one! It's a term used in winemaking, which means adjusting sugar and/or acid content to improve quality of finished wine.
It's also a term used in making candied fruit, which refers to the sugar being absorbed into the fruit. (Which is why candied fruit doesn't fall apart.)
You certainly don't need any more French paradoxes in your life! I didn't know that ameliorer means to add more sugar....
That lemon curd looks delightful! I have never had the pleasure of tasting a Meyer lemon, but I'd love to try my hand at growing an indoor tree....I have some kumquat seeds drying in my kitchen to plant. Maybe I'll grow a whole indoor citrus orchard!
Mmmm. But I prefer my curd in pastry, not on toast. To be honest, I've never really understood the custard on toast concept. Even with the kaya I recently made, it seemed better straight off a spoon than on toast. That being said, I would take lemon curd, improved or not, anyway I could.
I had no idea a meyer lemon didn't exist anymore. The only time I've ever had lemon or lime curd was from a store (American Spoon Fruit). I'd love to try, and I think I'd prefer lime. :)
I made once lemon curd and it was really runny and it was used in a tart and when i sliced the tart it was like a small pond and i gave up.
This looks thick, iam sure gonna try this recipe.
I made once lemon curd and it was really runny and it was used in a tart and when i sliced the tart it was like a small pond and i gave up.
This looks thick, iam sure gonna try this recipe.
I am sitting here eating cold cereal and drooling at that toasted BREAD--looks absolutely incredible! Did you make it?
I'm lucky enough to live a stone's throw from a relative who has several very prolific bushes. They bear virtually year-round, so she's never without lemons; and more often than not she's eager to get rid of some of her bounty. Meyers are my favorite for making lemon curd--or any other lemon dessert, really. If you're looking for another dessert in which the flavor shines, lemon pudding cake is a family favorite.
By the way, I save my seeds for jelly-making. They're packed full of pectin!
Ah, you daredevil! I made lemon curd once before when I first starting to cook/bake and even with the double-boiler managed to curdle it :( I think I'll try this version with more patience and diligence.
Plant your Improved Meyer Lemon seeds directly in good potting soil, water well and keep at room temp. I've had grapefruit seeds sprout in the garden, mystery guests from the compost pile. As for the paper towel, would you want to grow between industrial paper towel in a plastic bag? (Only if you are mold)
David,
if you want to email me I can send you some more (seeds at least) since we now have two meyer lemon trees. Well, one is ours, but our neighbors is so prolific and overhangs our yard so much that we get over 100 lemons a year from it easily. Ours is new and this year is the first serious year - last year we got three - this year about 20 or so.
Or when you are back in the Bay Area I can arrange for Sam B to get some to hand over to you if you see her.
ou la la. everything is better with lemon curd. i was so hoping the germination would work!
You lemon curd looks delightful and wonderfully versatile for desserts, spreading on breads or just eating straight from the jar. I have a few meyer lemons from my recent visit in California and will put them to good use.
I wish I could send you a meyer lemon tree! I know there are regulations against bringing non-native plants into the EU. When I was living in the bay area I had three improved meyer lemon trees (two that were started from its parent plant) that were prolific and gave me ripe fruits all year long. Even though your lemons seeds went to mush, I hate to tell you that it was unlikely to achieve a fruit bearing meyer tree from seed, especially from a fruit that is a hybrid (complex heritage/genes). It's a mixed bag, you can get fruit that is similar to the meyer or one that may not resemble its parent at all. Also it could have taken perhaps 4-10 years before the sprouting the lemon tree would reach a stage of maturity to bear any fruit, so you may be disappointed to find that out after half a decade of giving so much love and care for the plant that the fruit was potentially inedible.
Most meyer lemon trees are typically achieved by grafting a stem cutting onto another citrus root stock. In the past, I've successfully cut off a young stem dipped it in a gel root hormone and stuck it into soil to find it root! It truly feels like a miracle when you find 1 plant that will take root, while the other 5 just die off. They are wonderful houseplants that do not take a lot of room with fragrant blossoms, which will produce the same fruit as its parents. If you are looking to start one in Paris, I suggest that the next time you are in the bay area have some gel root hormone($10) and soil ready in a gallon-sized plastic bag. Contact me and you can cut off as many stems as you would like from my old trees. My kind neighbors are taking care of them, they have one tree that produces 200 sweet juicy fruits in a year, and I know you'll want a copy of that one!
Thanks for the recipe, I bought a box of Organic Meyer Lemons from a small orchard in CA and I made some preserved lemons and some lemon marmalade. My next recipe was going to be lemon curd and I was just going to start searching for a recipe. I can't wait to make this - MMMM. With those farm fresh eggs I get it should be wonderful!
I'm hoping to buy a meyer lemon tree for my house soon, as well as a mexican lime.
I'm pretty sure we won't find any meyer lemon in Paris, I feel so frustated when it's the season and all american bloggers talk about its wonderful taste... But maybe it's possible to find a small plant (like, something bigger than a seed)??? At home, we have lemons and oranges with our trees (yes, in the Parisian region), so why not a meyer lemon tree??
I just recently got my hands on some Meyer lemons from a relative's trees - after growing up on the West Coast where Meyer's are more common at the grocery stores than Eurekas I can't even put into words how excited I was to get some again. I didn't even think about making curd! Instead I tried out a shaker Meyer lemon pie. I'm waiting on them to finish macerating right now to put in the pastry crust.
This year I have discovered Meyer lemons and I think they are so delicious and delicate. I visited a friend in Berkley and while there I had the feeling that I was in the lemon town...so many lemon trees and so many Meyer lemon trees :).
I live in Romania where there are no Meyer lemons and where not many people know what they are. So, when a friend returned last weekend from California I have asked for Meyer lemons and I have received quite many...the first thing to do with them was Meyer lemon curd ... one of the most delicious things to make out of lemons...besides toast or just eaten plain out of the jar, I find it very delicious on cinnamon cookies (pepparkakor)...heavenly delicious :)
oh lovely! i just made that miraculous tart shell for the first time ever and now here is an easy recipe for lemon curd to go with it.
i really love what you said about folding the lemon curd in whipped cream and serving it with gingerbread. that's a must try too.
I long ago dispensed with a double boiler for making lemon curd, just isn't needed. You've missed the number one way to enjoy lemon curd: straight from the jar, tiny spoon by tiny spoon, usually just before bed.
Lovely light in your photos, David.
I love lemon curd!! Ever since I found the first jar of lemon curd I am hooked. It is not something that is easily found in the netherlands but recently it has become better available, but I have always wanted to try it out myself and now I have the recipe to do just that. It's unlikely I will find meyer lemons so I will have to stick with regular!
Next time you make Improved Lemon Curd (or even the un-improved kind), try something courtesy of Suzanne Goin (of Lucques and several other restaurants in Los Angeles). Put a thin coating of dark chocolate on the top surface of the cooked tart shell, let it cool (or dry), then cover with the curd. I think she calls it Jessica's Lemon Tart, after her sister who apparently demands it regularly at family dinners. It's a very subtle, but fantastic addition. (I'm pretty sure the recipe is in Suzanne's Sunday Suppers at Lucques.)
This technique is different, but the Sabayon recipe from Thos. Keller/Bouchon is almost the same, except it uses 3/4 cup of sugar. He has you add the lemon juice in separate additions over a double boiler, while whisking your arms numb. I used fresh Eureka lemons from a neighbor and even with all that sugar, it was so tart I could barely get passed the first taste for the mouth closing pucker those lemons produced! Yikes! Why are the techniques so different for what seems basically the same product?
i love the picture of the big, yellow, eggs yolks. Looks like a lovely spread for some toasty fresh bread!
this is my first comment here, altho I read the blog all the time. love it.
.I live in the Sonoma valley, and in my neighborhood all the lemon trees are Meyers'. mine is in a wine barrel and produces lemon all year.
another way I use them is for Limoncello.. the Best!!
thanks for all the great recipes and stories.
I so love lemon curd! I have a recipe that came from a cookbook of my grandmother's and of all my preserving efforts, there's not much that makes me happier than the beauty of lemon curd! On fresh gingerbread there is nothing better!
I planted an Improved Dwarf Meyer Lemon two springs ago. This year (hopefully!) should be the start of good fruiting from the tree. It seems to be doing pretty well and I'm really crossing my fingers for good results this year. Between the curd and the preserved lemons you posted a few weeks back there will be no lack of good use to put them to!
When I started paying $.75 a pop for lemons in SoCal (for lemons! in a place where citrus is supposedly plentiful!) I finally broke down and decided to grow my own!
I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and order Meyer Lemons from a wonderful lady in California. I have probably ordered 6 times and they always arrive in great shape and smell wonderful. You can find them at: http://www.lemonladies.com/
Our mail service can take a really long time and it is often 40 below when I order them. I love making lemon curd and my favorite recipe is the Luscious Lemon Bars from Alpineberry.
http://alpineberry.blogspot.com/2006/11/luscious-lemon-bars.html
Alemeny Farmers Market (in SF) has them 6 for $1 right now!
I just finished 12 pints of curd for holiday gifts. I now have 48 egg whites sitting around waiting to be made into macarons--thanks for your constant inspiration.