I have a friend who home cans (jars) lemon curd that I receive as a gift every year. It's delicious! It can be safely canned and with the list of ingredients in your commercial product, I would certainly try it. Maybe buy a lemon and grate some zest into it for a little freshness. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_02/lemon_curd.html

Well, there's mayonnaise and baby food that are shelf stable in jars until opened.

I've only ever had store-bought lemon curd, and lived to tell about it, seemingly 😃

Canned/jarred lemon curd is perfectly safe if unopened and before best buy date. Even then, it still quite edible but may lose some coloring. The high acid content means it is also safe for home canning. Can also be frozen for longer storage. Ditto with lime curd.

I am also a survivor of commercially jarred lemon curd. I never questioned the safety, like I might with home canning done by people not serious about safety..

I can’t remember the last time I bought lemon curd but would agree with the above responses. My guess is the store bought stuff will last longer than you think. Do you remember the brand you saw at the store? I know people who like TJ’s lemon curd. Nothing beats homemade but I get your reasons for wanting to try store bought.

I would also add that fruit curd of any kind is very easy to make. Only takes 20-25 minutes.

That info about lemon curd being suitable for BWB canning is news to me. I could see myself making it and canning it if that was the case. The main reason I don't make it is the same reason I don't make a lot of pies and cakes, I just can't finish it before it spoils, I can't eat a lot of sweets. If it freezes well I could do that too!

I can't remember the brand, but it was in the international foods aisle, so probably imported from Great Britain. You've given me the confidence to try it out. I can always freeze any that doesn't get eaten right away. I just have to pace myself when it comes to sweets, I have low consumption.

Edited to add that reading the directions for the BWB canning the curd, you basically pasteurize the eggs and then rely on the seal and acid to preserve it on the shelf. Makes sense. I'm wondering though about freezing retaining more of the fresh lemon taste . . .

Commercially made lemon curd is absolutely safe. After opening it'll keep a couple of weeks in the fridge.

Was it the Dickinson’s that you saw? That is the only brand available at our groceries. I’ve bought Trader Joe’s before when I was in a city with a TJ’s. I found it acceptable. I’m sure fresh is better but sometimes you gotta go with convenience.

I've seen that brand but that wasn't the one. It had a very plain label. Not very impressive for close to seven dollars. The brand was Wilkin & Sons. https://www.meijer.com/shopping/product/tiptree-lemon-curd-11-oz/4364768003.html

Just an FYI - Bonne Maman makes a wonderful lemon curd!

pink, don’t forget if you were to make it yourself you could always reduce the ingredients. This version only makes about 1 1/2 cups but easy to cut in half. Sorry to throw in another lemon book (I posted one on Lulu’s lemon thread) but this is one of my faves.

I haven't made lemon curd in a few years, but It's relatively easy and fast.

This is adapted from Fine Cooking.

Lemon Curd

3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp

1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

2 large egg yolks

5 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (optional)

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamed. Slowly add the egg and yolks, one at a time. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly (with wooden spoon and silicone spatula to get in corners) until the mixture thickens, about 12-15 minutes. It should leave a path on the back of a wooden spoon and will read 170 degrees on a thermometer. Do not let the mixture boil.

Remove the curd from the heat, stir in the zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the curd to keep a skin from forming. Chill the curd in the fridge. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly it will keep in the fridge for a couple weeks and in the freezer for 2 months.

That link didn't work for me - is this the brand? I'm guessing it's probably what I've had...

I haven't had their curd, but that was one of my father's very favorite jam companies. I used to buy one jar of their Little Scarlet jam per year (I almost never eat jam anymore). The little scarlet is made with the tiny "real" strawberries that don't ship. But awhile back, it got to expensive or something and they changed it. But while it may look plain, this is a very fine purveyor of preserves.

The tiptree curd is very good!

A fancy label doesn't mean it's better.

Yes, Tiptree is a huge brand. You should have absolutely no qualms about buying their products. And plain labels are considered quite classy here.

Dickinson's is a US brand. I've never seen it here.

To be honest, if you are going to be baking the curd in a tartlet, I don't think brand matters much. If you were eating it fresh it would.

I don‘t think commercially canned lemon curd is really in the same ball park as home made lemon curd.

I agree with Colleen, homemade is different than the canned stuff. I make Colleen's recipe in the microwave, takes about 5 minutes.

I have purchased lemon curd at Trader Joe's and it's OK, but not like homemade.

There is a recipe for home canned lemon curd at the Center for Home Food Preservation:

National Center for Home Food Preservation | How Do I? Can Fruits (uga.edu) . It does say that storage time is short, 3-4 months.

Colleen's recipe is so fast and we use it up quickly, so I don't bother to can it with such a short storage period. Colleen's keeps nicely in the refrigerator for at least a week, so it can easily be made ahead of time. The notes are hers, not mine. My family eats this stuff with a spoon, like pudding, LOL, and it makes a great topping for cheesecake.

Lemon Butter (Colleen)

4oz butter (NOT margarine)

3/4 cup lemon juice (about 3 lemons' worth)

all the rind from the lemons, grated

1 cup sugar (I use superfine)

4-5 eggs, thoroughly beaten

Put butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon rind into a micro-safe bowl. Cook on high about 3 minutes, stirring halfway through. Butter should be melted and sugar dissolved. Beat in eggs and microwave in 30-second bursts until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Whisk after each burst. Store in refrigerator to prolong the shelf life, which is short.

Makes about 3 cups, maybe less.

Sneaky notes:

If you are making a LOT of this, for gifts, etc, I peel the rind off with a peeler and drop it into the blender. Then cut off the white pith with a paring knife. Making sure there are no seeds, drop lemon flesh into blender. Whizz it up until the rind is pulverised. You should end up with about 1 cup of juice/rind mix per batch, to account for the rind and aeration. You can double or triple the recipe, just use a bigger bowl and adjust the times.

I also use the blender to whizz the eggs. If they are not totally beaten, you can get little white strings from the egg white which don't look great.

If you overcook it and it separates, beat up an extra egg. Gradually mix separated (sounds much better than curdled, doesn't it?) mixture into egg. Repeat if necessary.

Annie

Dickenson was good jam, but according to google, Smucker's bought and discountinued it.

I've only used the jarred lemon curd that's the regular recipe--no stabilizers or anything--and organic. Agreed, it's stiffer and a bit sweeter than homemade, but as its own thing it's perfectly nice. I've used it for filling in small batch macarons, for instance, or other cookies or similar. For a tablespoon at a time. And the licking of the spoon is good too. :) Yes, make your own if you can or will, but if you don't have lemons growing in the yard, or want to bother with the eggs, or bother at all, go ahead and use a good quality jar.

Unfortunately not only should I not be eating a lot of lemon curd, I should not be eating the kinds of things you put lemon curd on . . . I wouldn't mind making it as a special treat for a party or something, but not along with a lot of other stuff. I would not mind having some in the freezer to pull out if I had unexpected guests or needed something fast and fancy and didn't feel like making anything day of.