Grapefruit Curd |Cooking With Amanda

I try to encourage eating seasonally at my house, and that means that in the wintertime we are confronted with lots of citrus. Growing up I pretty much only ate oranges, but here in Texas my citrus repertoire has expanded to include Meyer lemons and Ruby Red grapefruit.

Now, the Meyer lemons are easy for me to create with, as they are not as sour as a standard lemon and much more fragrant. One of my favorite ways to use them is in my whole grain whole lemon scones.

But grapefruit, on the other hand, had me stumped for a long time. The acidity of grapefruit makes it somewhat harder for people to enjoy, so the rest of my family pretty much avoided it. Even when I made this colorful grapefruit avocado couscous they only took nibbles!

However, thanks to my interest in canning and preserving, I discovered the wonder that is curd. Fruit curd is made with juice (usually citrus), sugar, butter, and eggs, and it's incredibly easy to make at home.

I used pullet eggs for this grapefruit curd, thanks to my local produce delivery company. Pullet eggs are the first eggs chickens lay, which means they are smaller. They also have a higher yolk-to-white content, so anything you make with them will be exceptionally rich and creamy. If you are able to use pullet eggs for this recipe, swap the 2 large eggs for 3 pullet eggs, and the 2 large egg yolks for 2 pullet egg yolks.

When cooking your grapefruit curd, be careful to not heat it too quickly, otherwise your eggs can cook in the mixture. If that happens, don't worry too much! You can easily strain any lumps out after it is finished cooking.

Note that while red grapefruit provides pink juice, the richness of the pullet eggs created a golden curd. If you want to have a pink curd, you can add food coloring, but I prefer keeping the curd as it is.

Grapefruit curd is perfectly delicious on fluffy buttermilk biscuits, or you can use it for baking as with these lemon swirl rolls. Give it a try!

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Grapefruit Curd Recipe

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Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice, seeds removed
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
5 tablespoons salted butter, cut into pieces

Directions

Fill a saucepan with 2 inches of water and set to simmer.
In a stainless steel or heatproof bowl, whisk together grapefruit juice, honey, eggs, and egg yolks.
Set the bowl over the simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thickened. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Remove from heat and whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, whisking until all the butter is incorporated.
If your curd looks lumpy, press it through a sieve. Pour into jars and store in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving. The curd will keep in the refrigerator for about a week, or 1 month in the freezer.