Bazaar favourite to make at home

Press, 3 September 1986, Page 12

Bazaar favourite to make at home

Alison Holst’s

Food Facts *

Lemon honey (sometimes known as lemon curd or lemon cheese) is always popular at bring-and-buy sales and bazaars. The homemade product is much richer and eggier than commercially made varieties. It keeps for several weeks, or even longer, in a cool place. Because it is made from eggs, I like to refrigerate the jars. This increases its shelf life. For easy storage, bottle lemon honey in jars with screw tops. These tops don’t have to be vacuum sealed, but they do prevent the mixture from drying out and going sugary on top during long storage. Lemon honey is delicious spread on bread and butter, used as a sandwich filling, or a topping for toast. I like it on gingerbread too.

If you want to use it as a dessert, you can spread it, with whipped cream, between layers of sponge cake, or you can put it in small tart cases, and top each with whipped cream.

50g butter 1 cup sugar 2 lemons, rind and juice 2 eggs Melt the butter in a bowl over a pot of boiling water. If you have a food processor, put the sugar in it and add the rind from the lemons peeled thinly with a potato peeler. Process until the rind is chopped in tiny pieces through the sugar, then add the sugar to the butter. Squeeze the juice from the lemons and add to the mixture in the bowl. Beat the eggs in another bowl, or the food processor, just enough to combine the whites and yolks. You do not want to make them foamy. Stir the eggs into the bowl, then stir frequently until the sugar dissolves. Once the mixture is no longer grainy, stir fairly regularly for about 15 minutes, or until mixture thickens.

Transfer to small jars, top with screw tops, label and refrigerate.