What Are...Curds?

"Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey..." -Traditional nursery rhyme

Do you know what curds and whey are?! Because nobody ever really told me, and it was because of a recipe (after the jump) that I learned something new. Read on...

So....I wanted to make a lemon meringue pie dipping sauce, but really just the yellow part of the pie. This got me to thinking: what is that yellow stuff called? My first thought was meringue, but as it turns out, that's the white stuff on top! But it's not just lemon....hm.

I turned to Lord Google to investigate the name of that delicious yet elusive goo between the meringue and crust of these delectable pies. The answer? Fruit curd.

A la Lady Wikipedia, I learned that fruit curd is "a dessert spread and topping usually made with lemon, lime, orange or raspberry. The basic ingredients are beaten egg yolks, sugar, fruit juice and zest which are gently cooked together until thick and then allowed to cool." I was quite pleased to have learned a new word, but then I started wondering about Little Miss Muffet and her curds and whey.

The question was this: Why had I always imagined curds and whey to be something akin to very soggy, plain oatmeal? And if it tasted anything like fruit curd, then why the heck haven't I had it before?!

Back to Lady Wikipedia... "Curds are a dairy product obtained by curdling milk with rennet..." You know those chunks you get in your milk when it sours? Those are "natural curds." And what's rennet you ask? Well rennet is an enzyme produced in mammals' stomaches, and the rennet often used to make curds is gathered from cows. Now, I'm an adventurous eater, but this goes a bit beyond my tastes even. Plus my recipe called for neither milk nor rennet. So what makes a curd a curd then?

A bit more reading revealed this: fruit curd is similar to traditional curds in that it is the result of proteins being globbed together. In a fruit curd, eggs are substituted for milk. Since both are heavy in protein, both can be used to produce that gooey consistency. And instead of rennet, an acidic fruit juice is used. The acids work similarly to the rennet to cause those proteins to clump together.

And that's what I learned today! Now reward yourself with this delicious dessert:

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Ricotta Fritters with Lemon Curd

Ingredients for Ricotta Fritters:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups ricotta (about 1 pound)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Corn or canola oil
• Cinnamon
• Brown sugar

Directions

1. Beat the eggs, ricotta, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl. Sift the flour, sugar, and baking powder on top, and fold the mixture together until it is a homogenous if not entirely smooth batter.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Bring 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees in a wide skillet. Add tablespoon-sized lumps of batter to the oil, working in batches as necessary to avoid crowding the pan. Fry the fritters for about 4 minutes, flipping them once mid-fry to ensure that each side turns a deep golden brown.
3. Remove them to a paper towel-lined sheet pan and put the pan in the oven. Let the oil return to temperature (375 degrees) before you fry the next batch. Put your serving platter in the oven to warm before adding the last of the batter to the pan.
4. Toss fritters in a bowl with some brown sugar and cinnamon to lightly coat them.

Ingredients for Lemon Curd:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 egg yolks, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter.
3. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture.
4. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat and let cool.

Original recipes can be found at Sunday Brunch and AllRecipes.