Some things belong together.
Bacon and eggs.
Peas and carrots.
Peanut butter and jelly honey.
Strawberry and kiwi.
You know it’s true.
As a recent curd-convert I started to wonder if I could throw in other fruits. I’ve seen mango curd, passion fruit, other citrus. But I’ll admit I’ve never seen a kiwi curd.
It always makes me nervous when a google search for a recipe idea yields practically nothing. I wonder, is the fact that no one has done this before mean it’s just not doable?
And after my first failed attempt at kiwi curd, I was beginning to think that was the case. There was talk of phantom enzymes in kiwis that resulted in odd flavors or soupy textures (and apparently, an enzyme does exist in both pineapple and kiwi that will not set in gelatin—in case you were wondering why there has never been a kiwi jello).
That first batch, in addition to being a soupy mess, also tasted like the inside of a tin can, despite the fact that it did not touch a spec of metal (I cooked it in a glass bowl with a silicone whisk). I think I’ve pinpointed the culprit as a particular type of lemon, as we had a batch of hollandaise come out tasting equally metallic.
My second batch, luckily, was more fortunate. Increasing the proportions of egg to kiwi helped the curd thicken beautifully, and switching to the sweeter Meyer lemon eliminated any residual metallic taste.
I’ll admit – the curd does not taste much like kiwi. It wouldn’t have even been that green if I didn’t add one drop of green food coloring to it (call me a cheater if you will, but I wanted lime green curd, gosh darnit!)
However, strong kiwi flavor or not, when poured inside a tangy lemon shortbread crust and topped with slices of perfectly ripe strawberry, it makes for a tart and refreshing—and visually stunning—dessert. Fruit and lemon lovers rejoice—this is the dessert for you.
Me? I’ll stick to chocolate for now.
Let us know what you think!
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