Just like spice jars, which are seemingly impossible to get in reasonable quantities, it seems that jam jars suffer from the same issues too. I know, I looked. For months. I’m going to rant a little, but bear with me because I have some free downloadable lemon curd labels, like on the bottles above for you at the end.
Of the two big jar wholesalers, Plasdene only do minimum orders of $120, and Cospak will do smaller orders with a surcharge of $22 and delivery is minimum of $33 to the ACT. There was Silverlock, but they too had a minimum order of $50; Redback Trading only sold the American branded versions; Jam Jar Shop had only four types of jars and of course there was always eBay but it didn’t offer the amount of choice I wanted. I wanted to choose the shapes of my jars and I only wanted a dozen – was that too much to ask?
I know, I know, why didn’t I just use op shop jars… I just like matching things, ok. I wanted to give them as gifts and I dreaded having the residual smells of whatever else had been in there previously. Plus, having clean jars is just one less thing to worry about during the sterilisation process.
Anyway, to end my rant which must be tremendously boring for those of you who just want to get to the recipe part, thankfully I found a small Australian online store called Pack My Product who sell jars with no minimum quantity and a $15 delivery fee. I’m mentioning all of this because they aren’t currently showing up in the search results for jam jars – and I’m sure there’s a few of you out there who are looking (I’ve seen this question asked a dozen times in forums). While I was ordering, I couldn’t resist some apothecary jars, though I have no idea what I’ll be using them for… The lovely people at Pack My Product very kindly rushed my order through and when I told them how glad I was to have found their site, they sent me a whole bunch of free samples.
I feel so much better now that my jams and lemon curd are in matching jars. So, here’s the recipe. There’s only two rules, use fresh lemon juice (not that awful bottle stuff) and don’t overcook the curd – heat it on low and whisk continuously.
Serve with scones, on toast or wait for my recipe for lemon meringue tartlets.
I’ve created a pdf of these jam jar labels for you to use with your lemon curd – enjoy!
- finely grated zest of one lemon
- 180ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 180g caster sugar
- 3 free range eggs
- 3 free range egg yolks
- 180g cold unsalted butter, cut into very small pieces
- pinch of salt
- Sterilise your jars - I did it in my pressure cooker which halved the time. If you don't have one, you can use a large pot and your oven, instructions here.
- Bring a medium saucepan half filled with water to a gentle simmer. Place the lemon zest, lemon juice, eggs, salt, sugar and 30g of butter in a metal mixing bowl - make sure to choose one that will fit comfortably over the saucepan without falling in.
- Whisk briefly to combine ingredients - the mixture will have a bubbly or frothy consistency on the top.
- Place the bowl over the gently simmering water while stirring continuously with a whisk. The curd will slowly start to thicken - be patient and don't turn up the water from a gentle simmer - you want to gently cook the custard and not end up with scrambled eggs.
- As the curd starts to cook, the frothy part of the mixture will start to disappear and you'll get a velvety custard. Dip a wooden spoon in it, coat the back of the spoon and use your finger to draw a path through the mixture - it should leave a clear path. Remember, the consistency will firm up as it cools.
- Remove the curd from the heat and quickly whisk the cold butter into the curd until it's completely dissolved leaving the curd rich, creamy and glossy.
- Immediately place into sterilised jars.
Jam jar labels are available to download here.
Just print on Avery self-adhesive 63.5mm x 38.1mm (21 per page) labels.
*artwork derived from justsomethingimade.com
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So glad I’ve found your blog! I came across looking for nata tart pans, and so far, I’ve identified with all the postings I’ve read – your hatred of sugary frostings, your endless search for the ‘right’ jam jars! I’m so glad I’m not the only one that has these difficults 🙂 I’m based in Canada, so unfortunately the specific suppliers aren’t of use to me, but sharing in the struggle brings me joy.
Hearing from someone that is also nitpicky about these things makes me so happy!