Lemon Curd

When I became vegan I thought I’d probably miss cheese and maybe the odd egg. I would still like to find a vegan substitution for a poached egg but I have so many versions of cheese, both bought and home made, that I haven’t missed it at all. But every so often I’ll find myself wishing for a vegan version of something I hardly ever ate even before I became vegan. One example is Horlicks, and another is lemon curd.

I haven’t eaten lemon curd for many years and almost certainly not since my Nan died. My Nan used to make beautiful lemon curd (she called it lemon cheese but I don’t know why). I was the most popular person around when I used to take a jar back to University with me, but it’s something I’d all but forgotten about until very recently.

I’ve know Tezza virtually for quite a few years from various message boards, mostly the much missed BBC Vegetarian Message Board. She spends most of her time doing the sort of cooking that I don’t really enjoy – making pickles, jams, and, you guessed it, curds. Recently she very kindly sent me 5 flavours of her all vegan curds to sample. Traditional lemon, blueberry and lemon, orange and lemon, strawberry and rhubarb.

The first one I tried was of course the lemon. I spread it thickly on white toast and as soon as I bit into it I was taken back to tea at my Nan’s house. It was truly delicious and although I haven’t tasted it for many years I believe it compares favourably with any non vegan version. My second favourite was the blueberry and lemon which was tart yet sweet and was amazing on toast and on a hot crumpet. The orange and lemon was tasty but was more like a marmalade than a true curd. I’m not the biggest lover of strawberries anyway and I don’t think the texture of this one was quite right, but the rhubarb was lovely and sour.

Tezza does have plans to sell her curds and is currently sorting out her website and Paypal options. I’ll be sure to update here and let you have the links when it’s all ready. I’ve only tried the curds on toast but I’m sure more creative types could incorporate them into baked goods with great success. I’ll definitely be a customer when she’s up and running.

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