Serious Efforts: Blood orange curd too liquidy!
Help! I attempted to make blood orange curd last night and even after chilling in the fridge over night, the curd has not set at all. In fact, the butter in the curd has created a solid top layer. Any idea on how to save it? I'd hate to waste the blood oranges that've gone into the curd thus far.
I used this recipe:
4 blood oranges
1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp cornstarch
4 whole eggs
1/2 c sugar
1 stick butter
I cooked everything together in a double boiler. When the mixture appeared to thicken a little bit, I took it off the heat, cooled it, and placed the curd in the fridge with plastic wrap touching the surface.
What did I do wrong?
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5 Comments:
Sounds like it needed to cook longer. (Though that does seem like a lot of butter for one recipe's worth.)
I have had success with re-cooking non-dairy curds, so it might be worth a shot to put it back in the pan (I advise letting it come to room temp or so first) and cooking it a bit more. Let it set out on the counter to cool for 15-20 minutes before putting in the fridge again.
Should the recooking not work, and it separates again, try taking off the solidified butter and any liquid that may have weeped out. Then you could either take what is left and fold it into a half or one-third batch of a lemon curd you make, to flesh out what is missing, or mix it with a lemon (or blood orange) juice and gelatin mix that has been allowed to bloom, and then warmed to dissolve. Just a teaspoon or so of gelatin should help out the thickness issue and keep it from separating again.
Is the stuff under the separated butter good? (taste and texture) Perhaps just take off the butter and any liquid and see what you have underneath? It may be okay just as is, once that is taken off.
Good luck! I hate it when things like that happen. Let us know if you can salvage it!
sadiepix at 8:31AM on 02/05/09
I have used this recipe and had great success with it. This makes about a cup and no I have not tried to double it but I have subbed lemon, orange, tangerine and grapefruit for the lime juice. Don't know if you can save yours, sorry. If you can not, try making a sauce for chicken or pork by adding some herbs and maybe a little dry sherry.
1 large, fresh egg
1/4 cup lime juice (1-2 limes)
1/2 tsp lime zest
1/4-1/3 cup sugar, or to taste
1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold
1. Cut butter into small 1/2" chunks.
2. Boil a small amount of water in a small pot and cover with a stainless steel or Pyrex bowl. (This, friends, is the double-boiler heating method.) Whisk together the egg, juice, zest and sugar in the glass or metal bowl.
3. Whisk the lime mixture continuously over the steamy pot for about three to four minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl to avoid overcooking the edges. (You can hold the bowl in place with a hotpad, if it feels unstable.) The curd should grow progressively thicker as you whisk, and it will look like a pourable pudding when it's done.
4. When the lime mixture is thickened, take the bowl off the heat. (At this point, you could strain it if you cared to do so. I really don't care about the zest remaining in my curd, so I don't.)
5. Add in the butter chunks, and stir to melt and blend the curd.
Transfer the finished curd to a storage container and, if you don't want a skin to develop, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the curd.
finsbigfan at 8:37AM on 02/05/09
Now I did not even think of using the failed curd for an entirely different application. That is a great idea @finsbig!
Even folding it (separated butter removed) with whipped cream or yogurt for a different kind of dessert dish, swirled through homemade ice cream, mixed with a light buttercream for cake filling, mixed with fruit (fresh or stewed dried) or warmed and used as a glaze on just about anything.
I like the savory use idea though!
sadiepix at 8:47AM on 02/05/09
@sadiepix I love using citrus in savory dishes. The dish is still savory, but the citrus lightens up the flavor.
@arbela the one major difference I noticed in your recipe is yours adds the butter while still on the heat. Mine adds cold butter after it is removed from the heat. Now I am only guessing, but maybe the cold butter kind of "siezes" up the mixture to make it thicker.
finsbigfan at 9:04AM on 02/05/09
Oh, I love citrus in savory foods too, I just would never have thought to use a sweet curd like that for a savory turn after a fail...my brain would have made it do another sweet thing. :D
sadiepix at 9:08AM on 02/05/09