I usually freehand my canning sessions, and this was no exception. I started with a recipe from Alton Brown, but then improvised as I went. I had a stash of Myer lemons from a friend’s tree (see still life below), but I forgot to zest them before juicing. And I kind of hate zesting, truth be told. So when I read that part of the recipe and realized my mistake, I skipped it. Also, I don’t like my jams to taste like hummingbird food, so I cut the amount of sugar and upped the lemon juice.

This made for fresh and gorgeous-tasting curd, but it's pretty thin.  This isn't a disaster because it truly tastes great, but I did some more research and have this expansion to offer with the recipe: The simmer should be high enough to actually thicken the curd to the consisency of hollindaise...but not so high that you cook the egg. I realize now my simmer was too low. Also, I seem to remember reading something about how you need enough sugar to thicken the jam (or curd in this case).

Still, it looks and tastes like spring. And runny or not, I love gazing upon these little gem-colored pots.