Fruit curd

[Ishbel]

This is a delicious alternative to lemon or orange curd. I make it when I have a glut of gooseberries in the garden and have far too many to use in fruit fools, tarts, crumbles etc!

1 lb gooseberries (cooking, not dessert)
2 eggs, lightly mixed
Scant amount, but certainly no more than 2 tbsp cold water
8 oz sugar
4 oz unsalted butter

Simmer the gooseberries and water until they are soft. When cooked, sieve fruits. When sieved, put pulp in a saucepan, adding butter sugar and beaten eggs. Stirring gently, allow mixture to thicken but not to boil as the eggs will cause the mixture to curdle.

Enough for 2 x 1lb jars. Pour into the jars, wait until cooled before covering and then keep in the fridge.

 

[daisy]

That sounds utterly deLISH! I am so envious, because I never have enough gooseberries to do anything with - not enough space for enough plants in a tiny courtyard garden already bulging at the seams. I just nibble them when wandering around my little garden. The ones I have are the Cape Gooseberries, the little greeny-yellow ones about the size of a garden pea, that come wrapped in little paper lanterns.

 

[Ishbel]

Daisy - I LOVE goosberries - they are not yet ready for harvesting, but I always have a real glut of soft fruits like black/white/red currants, strawberries, raspberries, loganberries and blackberries, as well as dessert and cooking gooseberries. Have never had much luck with Physallis though, and if I had some of those in my garden, I'd be eating them by the handful, too!

 

[urmaniac13]

This sounds delicious!! Just one question, also the same for the homemade lemon curd, how long does it keep in the fridge?

 

[Ishbel]

I have to be honest and say that because I make it in small batches, it never lasts more than a couple of weeks in our house!

 

[urmaniac13]

Ah, good!! If it lasts more than a week, that will be sufficient probably we will consume it even faster than you do!! I was just wondering because of the involvement of barely cooked eggs it might perish much faster... probably the amount of the sugar serves as a natural conservative..

 

[daisy]

Fruit curds should never be stored longer than one month - and always in the fridge. I've never managed to store any longer than a week, though - they are too more-ish. I've never tried freezing them, either, but I'm told lemon curd freezes quite well.

 

[Ishbel]

Daisy
The couple of pounds I make at a time are eaten very quickly (not by me anymore - but fruit curds are so easy and quick to make that it's no hardship to whip up a couple of pounds more at any time. Like you, I always refrigerate it.