Anathoth Farm Lemon Curd product reviews

I have always liked lemon curd. Even as a child I would choose this spread above most jams and savoury spreads because I loved the contrast between the sharpness of the lemon flavour and the sweetness of the sugar. Knowing it was good for sore throats, my aunt (who was my prime caregiver) used to shovel it down my throat whenever I had the slightest symptom of a cough, and I don't ever remember objecting. If anything, I would occasionally manufacture a sore throat just so that I could enjoy the treatment.

The traditional way to enjoy it was always on toast, although we used to sometimes have tiny tartlets with lemon curd filling; it was also served as a topping on ice-cream in the days when you bought ice-cream in an oblong block and it came in only three varieties: vanilla, Neapolitan and chocolate. What that does show is that I have had a very long relationship with lemon curd from way back, so I have had the opportunity to sample many different brews.

When I first started eating lemon curd it was always home made from home-grown lemons. If you did not have your own lemon tree, there was always a neighbour who would oblige. But as time went by, and fewer people grew their own fruit and even fewer had time to actually stop and make a batch, commercially produced lemon curd started to appear on supermarket shelves. I can confirm that some of these mass-produced lemon curds are packed with colour and preservatives which actually defeat the purpose of a traditional spread. This variety has no hidden nasties: Anathoth Farm even use natural thickeners and antioxidants to preserve the quality without adulterating it.

If I have to choose an off-the-shelf product over a home-made version, this is one of the very few I would go for. The colour and flavour are both good, and there are just enough little pieces of peel to remind the consumer that this is the real thing. One of the things I have noticed about the cheaper, artificially enhanced curds is that they tend to be smooth because the product has been sieved before the final processing. Personally, I love the unexpected texture change when I encounter a lump of peel.

Over the last few days, I have tried several different ways of serving the lemon curd. As a matter of interest, these did not include toast of any variety! I served them for afternoon tea on Marcel's Petite Happy Pancakes. This is a combination that is irresistible; these two products are totally made for each other. Next day, I used it as a sandwich filling to join two sponge cakes together. I had already tried this a few days previously using a home-made lemon curd, so this time I used the Anathoth version. That worked really well too.

And finally, I mixed some with thickened cream and put a large dollop on top of my breakfast cereal. That was unbelievably decadent and something I intend to have again - the cream and curd melted down into the cereal just like golden syrup, but much nicer. I could make a habit of this!