zxcvbob wrote:

> Bob (this one) wrote:
>=20
>> Iowa Cook wrote:
>>
>>> hi - here's the recipe. it's part of a cooking light cheesecake
>>> recipe. what i did different: used fresh lime juice, doubled the
>>> recipe, forgot to stir occasionally while it was cooling. thanks for
>>> your time!
>>>
>>> Key Lime Curd
>>> 1/2 cup sugar
>>> 1/2 cup bottled key lime juice (such as Nellie and Joe's)
>>> 5 large egg yolks
>>> 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
>>> Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium, heavy saucepan. Cook ove=
r
>>> medium heat 7 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly with a
>>> whisk. Remove from heat. Add butter; stir with a whisk until butter
>>> melts. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 20 minutes or until
>>> lime curd comes to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Cover and=

>>> chill.
>>>
>>> Yield: About 1 1/2 cups (serving size: 1 1/2 tablespoons)

>> This is a crap recipe. Here's a scaled version of my packaged key lime=
=20
>> curd. It'll make enough for the recipe you're doing and leave some=20
>> left over for smearing on toast or a good friend. There's no need to=20
>> stir while it's cooling. You can use the icewater bath if you want to,=
=20
>> but it's not really necessary.
>>
>> 1 cup key lime juice
>> zest of 1/2 limes, finely grated
>> 13 1/2 oz sugar (1 3/4 cups)
>> 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
>> 9 large eggs
>>
>> Combine everything but eggs in a saucepan and bring to a simmer=20
>> (190=B0-195=B0F). Whisk eggs together and dump them into the juice mix=
ture=20
>> all at once whisking rapidly to mix. Stir often and bring to=20
>> 185=B0-190=B0F. Remove from heat and let cool to room temp or ladle in=
to=20
>> canning jars. Cover and refrigerate.
>>
>> Pastorio
>=20
> What makes it a crap recipe? The relatively small amount of butter?=20
> Lack of zest (fresh or otherwise)?

Several things. The directions are typical and silly. Cooking the eggs=20
the whole time means that much greater chance for it to overcook.=20
Stirring while it cools is a needless step. Nellie and Joe's *Key West=20
Lime Juice* isn't key lime juice. It's Persian lime juice from=20
concentrate. There's no good reason to treat the butter the way it is=20
in the recipe. Just add it up front. The lack of egg white means it=20
will lose virtually all the protein that can act as a binder and=20
thickener.

I don't have much time for Cooking Light and their whole approach to=20
food. They seem to be concerned only with removing as much fat as can=20
be done irrespective of the quality of the results.

When I make curd in large batches, I bring everything but the eggs to=20
a full boil and add the eggs all at once while mixing with a wand=20
blender. A batch of 48 jars takes me 21 minutes to cook that way and=20
there's no chance of making scrambled eggs with this technique. The=20
first part can be done in a mike very easily with the egg cookery=20
stovetop for better control and the capacity to stir and mix while=20
heating.

Pastorio