Lemon curd is one of those quiet kitchen miracles: eggs, sugar, lemon, and butter whisked into something glossy, tart, and spoonable. It is also a perfect dosing vehicle, because it is almost always served by the spoonful — over toast, under berries, folded into cream. The method is the one this kitchen lives by: cook the curd clean, take it off the heat, and whisk the dose in last. The curd never boils with the dose in it, the tartness stays bright, and the count stays exactly where you put it — in the spoon.
🧈 Decarb & Infusion (Dosed Butter for the Finish)
- Decarb: 7g ground flower spread thin on a lined sheet, 240°F (115°C) for 40 minutes, until fragrant and golden. Cool completely before handling.
- Infusion method: Stovetop butter — decarbed flower + 1 cup unsalted butter in a saucepan, 180–200°F for 2 hours, never simmering. Strain through cheesecloth, press gently. Yield: about 1 cup finished dosed butter, 16 tablespoons.
- Storage: Refrigerate airtight up to 3 weeks, freeze up to 6 months. Label it dosed and dated, and keep it in a different dish from the regular butter. Finished lemon curd keeps refrigerated up to 2 weeks in a labeled jar.
- Dosing math for this batch: 1 tablespoon dosed butter ≈ 72mg THC, 1 teaspoon ≈ 24mg. The curd below uses 1 tablespoon dosed butter (≈ 72mg total) whisked in off heat, yielding about 1½ cups of curd — a 2-tablespoon serving is about 6mg.
🍋 The Recipe: Lemon Curd, Cooked Clean, Dosed Off Heat
Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice, strained
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
- 4 tablespoons plain unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 tablespoon dosed butter (≈ 72mg THC total)
Method:
- Whisk the eggs, yolk, and sugar in a heatproof bowl until pale. Whisk in the lemon juice and zest. Set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water — the bowl should not touch the water — and cook, stirring constantly with a spatula, until the curd thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not let it boil, or the eggs will scramble.
- Take the bowl off the heat. This is the dose-the-finish moment: first whisk in the plain butter, a cube at a time, until glossy. Then whisk in exactly 1 tablespoon of dosed butter until it disappears completely. Stir for a full minute, scraping the sides, so the dose is even through the whole jar — the curd should look uniform, not streaked.
- Strain through a fine sieve into a clean jar, pressing out any zest or cooked bits. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to stop a skin forming, then chill until set, at least 2 hours.
- Portion by the spoonful: a standard serving is 2 tablespoons, about 6mg. Spoon it over toast, shortbread, or berries, or fold it into whipped cream for a fool — but always with a measuring spoon, never a free pour from the jar. A "dollop" is not a dose.
- Label the jar dosed with the per-serving count, and keep it separate from any plain curd in the fridge. If the table has mixed company, serve the dosed curd in its own small dish with its own spoon.
🧬 Terpene Pairing
- Primary terpenes: Limonene (the obvious star — bright citrus that makes the lemon taste more like itself), linalool (a soft floral note that rounds the tart edge), and pinene (a crisp, clean lift that keeps the curd tasting fresh).
- How to use it: A limonene-forward strain is the rare case where the terpene and the dish are singing the same note — the curd's lemon and the strain's citrus amplify each other instead of competing. Let it.
- What to avoid: Earthy, heavy myrcene strains that muddy a bright curd. Lemon curd is a high note; do not drag it down into the bass.
🌱 Strain Suggestions
- Super Lemon Haze — Limonene, terpinolene. The citrus-on-citrus pick.
- Lemon Haze — Limonene, myrcene. Bright and lemony; made for this jar.
- Jack Herer — Pinene, terpinolene. Crisp and clear; keeps the tart edge sharp.
📏 Dosage
- Per serving: About 6mg THC per 2-tablespoon serving (1 tablespoon dosed butter ≈ 72mg ÷ 12 servings). One serving is 2 level tablespoons.
- Onset: 30–90 minutes. Curd is easy to keep spooning — decide your serving before you open the jar, not while you are holding the spoon.
- The jar rule: One spoon in the dosed jar, and that spoon does not travel to the plain jar. Cross-contamination is how a plain breakfast becomes a counted one by accident.
Start with one serving. Wait 90 minutes before even thinking about a second. For adults 21+ only. Consume responsibly and in accordance with local laws.
🍋 Chef Smoke's Table Rule: "Cook it clean, dose it off heat, serve it by the spoon — tart, bright, and counted to the last spoonful."
© Gourmet Edibles 2026. All rights reserved. Published by Compact Underground • Educational content only. Always follow local laws and consume responsibly.