What To Do With…. Egg Yolks

I know that I am not the only one who has been in this situation: You've found a great recipe but it only requires part of the egg. You need the yolks but not the whites, or you need the whites but not the yolks. So what becomes of the unwanted half? You could throw them away or you could find a simple recipe to make use of them....

In my survey of one (me), I have found that it is infinitely easier to find a delicious end for those egg whites. One could easily whip them up into a tall fluffy meringue or a 2 minute egg white omelet. But yolks? Hmm... Who has a yolk omelet?

This weekend, I made macaroons from a recipe that required three egg whites but that left me with three orphaned egg yolks. Of course, there are delicious uses for orphaned egg yolks such as a buttery hollandaise or a creamy custard base for a delicious salted caramel ice cream. But neither of those options appealed to me because they created more work rather than solved my immediate culinary dilemma.(Just because I love to cook and enjoy the time I spend in my kitchen doesn't mean I want to spend all weekend there. Hence, the temptation to throw orphaned yolks out.)

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them until I peered into my fridge and I found my answer in the crisper...

This recipe involves juicing the lemon/lime and takes about 10 minutes of whisking and that's it. You don't need to use it immediately, but it should probably be eaten within a week.




Lemon-Lime Curd

1 lemon juiced
1 lime juiced
3 egg yolks (you may need another yolk if you need to have a thicker curd)
6-8 tbsp sugar (separated) or more to taste (if you prefer a sweeter curd, add ½c to ¾c sugar)
4 tbsp butter, separated

1. Over a pot of boiling water, set a metal mixing bowl over top. Pour the juice into the bowl, add yolks and whisk continuously. Add sugar tablespoon by tablespoon, if you like it abit tart. Check for sweetness. Add as much or as little based on your preference.
2. Add butter 1 tbsp at a time. Whisk until well incorporated.
3. Lemon curd should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
4. Pour into a clean container and refrigerate.

Lemon curd may be smeared on scones, or toast. Alternatively, lemon curd may be used in desserts.