Lemon Curd -- Low carb and low calorie
 

Ok, this worked out to 20 calories for 2 Tbls and about 1g of carb. Its probably a tad more than that, but I don't know the carb counts for Polydextrose. I left out the butter because I'm being careful of the calories, but I bet adding it would mellow the flavor a bit. This makes 1.5 cups of curd, a little less without the butter.

Recipe called for:

3 eggs (used 'em)
3/4 cup of sugar (Used 1/2 C of Polydextrose, 1/4 cup of Erythrinol and about 1/8 tsp of liquid splenda (Sweetzfree))
1/3 cup of lemon juice (I used a bit more)
1 Tbl of lemon zest, I used probably more like 2. I love lemon!
6 Tbl of butter (I didn't use)

Anyway, you mix it all together (except the butter) and then cook it over a pan with simmering water, stirring constantly until it comes to 160 degrees. It should take about 10 minutes. If it cooks too fast or too hot, you get scrambled eggs. Take it off the heat once it reaches 160 keep stirring. Add the butter now if you're going to do that.

Pour it into another container and put plastic wrap down on the surface of the curd, so a skin won't form. Refrigerate. It should be about the thickness of pudding that hasn't set up yet and it will firm up when it cools.

I used the bowl from my kitchenaid mixer and put it into a saucepan of simmering water. I have a probe type of thermometer I used to keep track of the heat.

Basically its just an intensely lemon custard. I'll be using it for toppings on yogurt and the occassional bowl muffin and anything else I can think of.

I decided to use the polydextrose because it has properties similar to sugar and I figured this might need that. I don't know what would have happened if I had left it out and only used splenda... I don't think it would have been a good thing.

2 Tablespoons (version without butter) should be about 20 calories, 1 fat gram, 1 carb.

This is so intensely lemon it'll make your tonsils writhe in glee.

I just found a microwaveable way of doing this. I haven't tried it yet, but I will! You nuke it in 1 minute increments for about 4 (for 2 eggs) sessions. After that, you do 30 seconds at a time until it gets thick. Man, it'd be a lot easier to make if you could microwave it!

Greetings, Ms. Nancy.

FYI, here are my calculated guestimates for Polydextrose as I use them in MasterCook (thought this might help):

1 Tbsp =~ 10g total weight, 10g carbs, 8.5g fiber (calculated from the official 10kCals/10g/Tbsp of Litesse Polydextrose).

ps: the microwaveable custard method works, just be conservative on the timing between whiskings, especially if you have 1000W or thereabouts :D ... I've used it for my basic (used not/Sugar veg gums actually) and rich (used some eggs and butter) Lime Curd {eat your heart out!} -- I haven't made it in a couple of years though, so I guess I should reincarnate and re-test those recipes.:o

I agree Jude! I also happened to think I have a temperature probe for my microwave so I can use that to keep my eye on the temperature of my custard. Oooh! Lime curd!

My sister has a recipe for a mustard that is made with an egg custard. I bet that would work in the mwave too.

Thanks for the info on the PDX, I'll get it into my databases.

Oh! One more thing, Valewis says she has made the lemon curd without fussing with the PDX and fancy, schmancy sugar alcohols. So it might be possible to do this with just splenda.

Hmmm... I got to thinking of all the kinds of "curd" one could make:

Chocolate curd: Using unsweetened cocoa powder and sweeteners

Lime curd

Da Vinci Curd, I'm going to try this too. I think using Da Vinci syrups it might... work.

Indeed, as I noted, the Low Cal Lime Curd was made with veg gums (as thickening support) but the 'Rich' Lime Curd was made in the traditional way, with the eggs and butter. It's a custard as you know. The PDX may add something to it, but it's not really necessary IMO.

You GO, girl! I want to see the CHOCOLATE Curd ;)

I remember in a chocolate/mocha custard I made for a trifle that they had you add the chocolate in last and let the heat from the custard melt it. Is that necessary? Or should I do it and cook it with the egg? I know chocolate can get weird when it is cooked.

I assume there are a lot of ways to do it; I would do one of either:
a) chop the chocolate small and melt it in hot cream (if using) or other hot liquid that's part of the recipe just prior to finishing cooking;
b) melt it in the nuker til just scrape-able, then stir it in at the end of cooking/texturizing.

I'd avoid cooking it cuz I just don't see the need; besides, it COULD break and that would be a crime, eh? :lol: After all, it's the thickening/emulsifying power of the eggs that needs watching, not the chocolate...

Cocoa powder shouldn't have an issue being cooked with the eggs, right? I'd sort of think it would need to be mixed in really well with the eggs so it could have a chance to be absorbed, dissolve, whatever it would do. Whatcha think?

I can't use cream in my diet unfortunately!

I took some shortcuts last night. I used 4 eggs, about 2/3 cup of PDX and liquid splenda. I also used bottled lemon juice (not nearly as potent) and I had some frozen zest in the freezer.

So I mixed everything except the lemon peel and put into a microwaveable bowl and used the microwave in short bursts. I also have a temperature probe in the microwave which I used.

It actually worked pretty well even though it started to curdle, I did catch it before it got too far. The problem with the microwave is that it heats it up too fast. Probably using it on 50% would be better.

This lemon curd came out with a very mellow flavor, not the really super tangy stuff with the real lemon made. But still, it is very tasty!

I'm running out of eggs!

Dumb question.......gotta ask it: WHAT is lemon curd? is it like a pudding you eat with a spoon? is it a condiment you spread on bread? is a frosting you put on cake? WHATWHATWHAT?

Yes, I live in the sticks, and it's highly unlikely that a container of lemon curd ever traversed the borders of this po-dunk town. It's not that I've never heard of it, I just don't know what it is or how you use it. :)

Thank you for allowing my ignorance to show. But I'll bet I'm not the only one going, 'what the ****?' :p

The traditional stuff is very thick, a knife would stand up in it. It is spreadable, like Nutella. I suspect it is an English invention and I bet they put it on scones. Its extremely lemony and sweet and it'll make your tonsils writhe in lemony ecstasy. I have put it on French Toast, bread, yogurt, cottage cheese, directly on my tongue... anything I can think of! Oh yes, another thing I think people put it on is pound cake.

My version, without the butter, isn't quite so thick and is more like a custard or pudding versus a spread. Still extremely tasty on all the things I mentioned.

Valewis had the brilliant idea of using more yolks to whole eggs to make the curd stiffer!

my sister made a divine HIGH CARB lemon chicken with regular lemon curd. Just think what could be done with the LC version!


my mouth is watering now!


deb

BTW, is there a way to do this without the polyD? I don't have any. :wave:

Yes! I talked to another low carber who did it without. I think she also used 2 egg yolks + 2 whole eggs, that'll make it thicker.

Hey, care to share your sister's recipe? that sounds really good!

Sorry, Nancy, up to my eyeballs the last couple of days with classes and more... :(

Cocoa powder doesn't really dissolve so much as it seems to get moistened and distributed (real chocolate, even unsweetened, has the cocoa butter as a carrier for the chocolate solids; if you can't do cream, I guess cocoa butter is out of the picture, eh?);)

If you haven't sorted this out already (I haven't read the rest of this thread yet), I'd make a very smooth paste with whatever liquid you will have in your hypothetical Chocolate Curd, and then incorporate THAT in your beaten and cooking eggs...whatcha think?

Here's the classic, though Kraft makes one too, IIRC! This is the English brand that's sold all over the world, runs about $5-6 Canadian for this jar...

i'll try to dig it up for you.....the lemon chicken recipe.

i caved and had some and it was WONDERFUL!


Deb

Lemon chicken w/lemon curd
 

i'm pretty sure this is the recipe my sister used. Looks exactly the same....


http://foodnetwork.com/food/recipes...6_19367,00.html



deb

I made chocolate curd last night. Same basic recipe but I used unsweetened cocoa powder and some splenda sweetened chocolate chips (Mini-carb, Netrition has them).

Doing this in the microwave is harder than it seems. You really have to do it in short bursts (like 15 seconds), watch the temperature like a hawk. I think the double boiler is actually not difficult at all and results in a better.

So far my microwave attempts have almost curdled on each occassion. They definitely don't have the smoothness of the double boiler method.

How do you make it with out the poly... stuff, I can't eat it. I see there was an 4 egg way, anyone know how to do it?

Just leave it out, Lessara. No other change is necessary. Add however much splenda makes it taste right to you. The original recipe called for 3/4th cup of sugar but I vary the eggs so much that I have to taste the mixture before cooking it.

<coming to>

did you say LEMON CURD!!!!!!!! I absolu-freaking-lutely ADORE lemon curd, have missing it horribly-usedto top cheesecakes with it, and no LC recipe is the same without it.

Basically, its lemon jelly without the pectin. made like a custard, its the eggs that do the thickening. And a WHOLE LOTTA SUGAR. which has always been the problem. Where does one find polydextrous? would my local uber organic store have it, or gnc? (course, theyre about useless for food stuffs these days). I already know my local safeway will not.

But I am definatley giving it a try. YAY!

You can get buy without the PDX. Just use extra egg yolks. Actually, if you don't mind it being a bit looser, don't bother with the extra egg yolks.

My chocolate curd came out like a really, really thick, rich mousse. But with a fraction of the calories. *drool*

Here's a great spot for low carb baking products: http://www.honeyvillegrain.com/products/lowcarb.html

Even though you CAN do lemon curd in the microwave, I really recommend you use a double boiler (I put a stainless steel bowl over a pot of gently boiling water). It comes out so much smoother. You can also use bottled lemon juice but it just isn't as good as fresh. However, when I need a fix and I don't have fresh, I use bottled. But I do have frozen lemon zest in th efreezer from the last batch of fresh lemons I had.

Did ya post it, huh?! The proportions, the recipe?!

ps: Netrition has Polydextrose now, I think, as well as Honeyville...whichever you order from (both have great shipping prices for the lower 48) it's best to order a bunch of stuff at once...

Pffft! As if I measured! Lets see, I used 3 giant tablespoons of cocoa powder and tossed in some splenda sweetened chocolate chips afterwards.

I wish you could buy unsweetened chocolate chips, those splenda ones are tasty, but they taste ok in this recipe.

I've also gone back to using the double boiler. You just can't get as good texture in the microwave, I've decided.

Yeah, yeah, yeah :lol: but at what point did you toss in all that cocoa??!! :help:

For example, I melt my choc chips in the same glass measuring cup I'm melting my butter in (when I'm using butter, natch;)); so did you make a paste with the cocoa? and with what? and then whisk it into your cooking mixture at the beginning? or at the end just before final thickening?

Sheesh....;)

ps: I just break up the unsweetened chocolate instead of chips ... and have recently found some unsweetened (i.e., "chocolate liquor") Callebaut in a local HFS! Heavenly quality compared to Bakers' which is our only other option (usually) up here for unsweetened ... :(

Oh! I just added the cocoa to the raw eggs and splenda and beat it in really well. The chocolate chips I stirred into the hot mixture afterwards.

You know, it really reminds me of chocolate mousse! Oooh! Is chocolate liquor liquid? Wow, that sounds wonderful.

For unsweetened chocolate chips just make your own using bakers chocolate. Temper it, spread it out on a cookie sheet to cool then break it apart. There are recipies here to do it.

Bakers' is grainy and just hasn't got the right texture, IMHO ;) Don't get me wrong, it's in my chocolate arsenal, I'm just happy when I can find a better quality unsweetened chocolate/chocolate liquor (which, sadly, is NOT liquid by the time it gets to retail, it just means the tempered chocolate base before adding sweetening and such, as I understand it. Ah, tradition....;) )