Of the 500+ recipes I’ve written, I think I’ve only titled something “the best” one other time. Best is a subjective term. But I really believe that for the best orange curd, you must not add orange juice (ever), and hopefully by the end of this post, you’ll agree.

Nearly all recipes for orange curd feature orange juice, which makes sense on the surface. But if you ask me, that’s the ultimate orange curd sin. Why? Because OJ waters down both flavor and tartness. Orange juice is somewhat flavorful and a bit tart, but it falls short on both counts. For flavor, we must reach for orange zest, which is where most of an orange’s flavor lives. For tang, we must reach for lemon juice. It is the only thing that packs a punch strong enough to give orange curd some much-needed zip. Why not just use both lemon and orange juice? Read on to get the answer, or jump to the recipe if you’re already convinced.

TL/DR: orange zest + lemon juice (+ 0 orange juice) = the best orange curd ever.

My 3 reasons for using 100% lemon juice (0% orange juice):

1. No, it doesn’t turn out too tart.

Don’t believe me? Think of it this way: If you were making a lemon curd, you’d use 100% lemon juice, and it would not be too tart. This recipe uses those same proportions as a standard lemon curd. So it is as tart as a lemon curd, but with a distinctly orange flavor instead. And that’s because…

2. Flavor is more concentrated in the zest, which makes this curd taste very orangey.

If you want something to actually taste like orange, you must use orange zest. Juice will add a bit of orange flavor, but zest adds so much more.

Orange juice does contain some orange flavor. So why not just add both orange juice and lemon juice? Well, there is a limit to how much liquid we can add, so we need to make sure every liquid counts! If we skip the orange juice, we can save 100% of our liquid budget for very-tangy lemon juice.

And don’t worry…

3. Flavor is less concentrated in juice, so this curd does not taste lemony.

The lemon juice in this recipe is just there for tang, and does not add a ton of lemon flavor. You might catch a note of lemon, but orange is the entiely dominant flavor.

Perfectly tart, very orangey, not lemony. Now that’s a perfect orange curd.

What else I love about this orange curd recipe

The thing that makes it uniquely good is the lack of orange juice, but there are lots of other reasons to love it:

1. It doesn’t require a double boiler. At least, for induction and gas stoves. If you’re using electric, you may want to use one to make sure it doesn’t curdle.
2. It uses whole eggs instead of just egg yolks. Whenever I post about this, someone always says “but doesn’t it taste sulfury and eggy with those added whites?” But actually, egg yolks are far more sulfuric than whites—about 50-60% more! So no, it does not taste more sulfuric or eggier. It just tastes like a normal curd.
3. You don’t need a thermometer to make it. If you watch the video in this post ahead of time, and then you pay very close attention to textural clues, you should be able to stop the cooking in time. Since we’re gradually reducing the heat as we go, it shouldn’t coast quickly past done, and you should have some wiggle room. Whisking in cold butter at the end helps to rapidly chill it, so just make sure your butter is nearby when you start.

Btw, if you want to make any citrus curd, my recipe uses all the same principles in this one. Grapefruit curd, mixed citrus, blood oranges—the sky’s the limit. If you can zest it, you can curd it.

Or check out my broader collection of curds if you’re looking for something like passion fruit or even hibiscus.

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