*AD – this experience was gifted to our household for this post. All opinions, as always, are our own.
One of the best things to come out of lockdown is digital cooking classes. Earlier last year, we were able to try a street food class by Larks – and more recently, Dann and I took a look at Rosie’s Preserving School, to make some Lemon Curd! Lemon Curd is one of Dann’s favorite things to eat, and something we have made several times before, but it’s always fun doing cooking courses and I love a good excuse to hang out with other people and create something yummy!
Using some pretty basic at home utensils, we were able to whip up a few batches of lemon curd during the cooking lesson. Rosie actually taught us two ways to make lemon curd – one way using the stove top and another way using a microwave. Her way of making lemon curd used whole eggs, instead of just egg yolks, which was interesting and slightly different to how we do it. During the lesson, Rosie’s passion for preserving and using ingredients to it’s fullest was really prevalent. Rosie explained how to use lemons in a large number of ways – from preserved lemons to candy lemon peels (which you could do with one of your lemon peels after juicing it) to limoncello. She even spoke about the benefits of vinegar in preserving and in cleaning – as well as how to make anti-bacterial spray with lemons. She clearly has a vast knowledge on preserving and creating!
That’s one of the real draws of a class like this – Rosie is full of knowledge on the subject and was able to teach us all a lot more than just lemon curd, despite that being the focus of the class. I was not aware of how many different ways you could use lemons – especially the lemon peels which are normally discarded when I use lemon juice in other recipes. It’s like being in a group with an expert, which is what you want to have in these courses. During the cooking part of the class, we were able to ask questions about anything to do with preserving or lemon curds, from how to save a scrambled curd to how long you can store lemon curd. Everyone who had a question could find an answer with Rosie.
Along with the vast knowledge that we all gained from Rose’s Preserving School, the feeling within the room was really lovely. Rosie, to me, felt like cooking with my grandmother – she knew everything, spoke so casually even with questions that felt a bit silly to ask, and constantly was telling me something new or narrating what she was doing. It’s just a welcoming environment for those who are new at cooking and those who just want to hang out with others and cook. Rosie has been doing virtual cooking courses as it’s a great way to introduce people to cooking and doing the cooking in the comfort of your own kitchen just feels like a good idea – and it is. In your own kitchen, you know where everything is and are often more comfortable then in a big class environment.
Rosie’s preserving school is doing a bunch of different cooking courses, for many things beyond lemon curds. Each season, she has a seasonal group of classes, which will teach you how to make yogurt, dehydrate germs, create brown sauce, make chutneys, and much more. There are so many different classes in each group – I am sure you knowledge would just grow with a group of these!
We made our own lemon curd at half term and loved it! I’m usually about jellies and marmalade but it was really good.
Making your own jelly is also so good!