Being sold a lemon

I love Lemon Curd. I like it as a baking ingredient, I frequently use it instead of jam, on a piece of bread, and a spoonful really brightens up a plain yoghurt. Yes, it is packed full of sugar, but used in moderation, I don’t see much wrong with it.

I’m lucky to have a number of farm shops nearby that sell local varieties, but when I am in a supermarket, I tend to go for Wilkin’s, which I think of as a reliable brand. It is sweeter and less sharp than some of the others I buy, but it is still very nice.

However, the other day, I was tempted by a jar of Tesco’s Lemon Curd. At 69p a jar, as opposed to £2.20 for Wilkins, I thought I would give it a try.

Yuck. Never doing that again. But aside from the taste, and the cloying feeling it left in my mouth, what was the difference?

Here are the complete ingredients for Wilkin’s Lemon Curd:

Sugar, Butter, Lemon Juice (11%), Egg Yolk, Whole Egg, Gelling Agent: Pectin, Lemon Oil

Here is the Tesco’s variety, sold as the same item:

Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Water, Lemon Juice From Concentrate (8%), Margarine, Modified Maize Starch, Free Range Dried Egg, Gelling Agent (Pectin), Citric Acid, Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Lemon Oil, Colour (Beta-Carotene), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Margarine contains: Vegetable Oil, Water, Emulsifier (Mono- and Di-Glycerides of Fatty Acids). Colour (Carotenes)

Say no more! The Tesco jar was consigned to the bin, and I have a new Jar of Wilkin’s opened by my scones.