Your Instant Pot Is The Secret To Shortcut Fruit Curds

Fruit curd, whether it's the classic lemon or something more adventurous like pineapple or passionfruit, offers brightness and acidity in every bite. Whether you use it as a tart filling or spread it on a baked good, it's a remarkable flavor bomb. Homemade curd is usually best, but traditional recipes for it involve a lot of time and energy. While it only has a few ingredients, it can be a temperamental specialty that requires some effort as you carefully whisk the fruit juice and zest, eggs, sugar, and butter together. Do this wrong and you may end up with curd that's too thin or has lots of lumps.

Fortunately, the Instant Pot can remedy this problem and get you away from the stovetop. It's amazing that something that usually needs low-to-medium heat can actually be made in a pressure cooker, and it all comes together quite quickly. After completing the necessary prep, you can have fresh fruit curd in only 10 minutes.

The process starts with combining the eggs, sugar, butter, fruit juice, and (sometimes) zest, depending on which type of fruit you're using. Some recipes call for softened butter while others use melted butter or add in the butter after the curd has cooked. You can experiment to see which method works best for you. Make sure to put your mixture into a heat-proof bowl or jar since it's going into the Instant Pot. Add about an inch of water to the pot and use the trivet to keep your container off the bottom of the appliance. Then cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.

The curd may look a little odd when you take it out of the pressure cooker, but don't worry. Some separation is normal, and the same goes for having a few residual bits of egg. Pass the curd through a fine sieve into a storage container to strain out any imperfections. Also remember that the curd will thicken as it cools. Now you're ready to enjoy some delicious fruit curd!