I was gifted with a lot of lemons from my neighbor's tree last week. I didn't realize just how many I had until I washed them all! What the heck was I going to do with all those lemons?
So far, I have started Lemon Wine. I used this recipe:
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The second thing I did was make Canned Lemon Curd.
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Right now, I have some Bitter Orange Marmalade (Orange-Lemon Marmalade) going in my crock pot (because my stock pot has the wine in it). Not sure if it will get hot enough to thicken, so I may have to separate and cook in batches. This recipe I got out of Stocking Up III by Carol Hupping and the staff of the Rodale Food Center. I used Mandarin Oranges, since I had a lot of those that needed to be used.
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The next (and I hopeful final) recipe I will be making is a Lemon Meringue Pie. I'll be making this one tonight, using a recipe out of The Joy of Cooking (which is basically this recipe by Alton Brown):
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I was wrong! One more recipe, since there were just a few lemons left over. I made Lemon Extract! I remembered a wonderful Lemon Poppy-seed Bread recipe an online friend of mine gave me (I don't have permission to post it here) and my lack of the necessary ingredient Lemon Extract. So, I made some!
I used the canning instructions from the National Center for Home Food Preservation (.pdf link below) but this recipe.
If you are using fresh squeezed lemon juice, taste it. If it is sweeter than store bought lemon juice, then add a little citric acid. Stir until the citric acid is dissolved, then taste again. If it is still too sweet, continue doing this step until you are satisfied.
Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl, stir to mix, and set aside about 30 minutes.
Heat water in the bottom pan of the double boiler until it boils gently. The water should not boil vigorously or touch the bottom of the top double boiler pan or bowl.
In the top of the double boiler, on the counter top or table, whisk the eggs. Slowly whisk in the sugar and zest, blending until well mixed and smooth. Blend in the lemon juice and then add the butter pieces to the mixture.
Place the top of the double boiler over boiling water in the bottom pan. Stir gently but continuously with a silicone spatula or spoon, to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the mixture reaches a temperature of 170 degrees F.
Remove the double boiler pan from the stove and place on a protected surface, such as a dish towel on the counter top. Continue to stir gently until the curd thickens (about 5 minutes). Strain curd through a mesh strainer into a glass or stainless steel bowl; discard collected zest.
Here is the .pdf with the detailed instructions to water bath can this recipe. To download it, right-click, then choose "Save As." Lemon_Curd .pdf