maria, I had to do a little sleuthing. I simply pour my hot curd into boiled bottles, seal, cool, and then refrigerate. I have mailed it out to folks and so far no one has died (Hi GayR...please be alive!).
According to the Internet, high-acid foods can safely be preserved without a pressure cooker by using a water bath (lidded or not)...lemon/lime curds fall into this category. However. low-acid foods, like corn, peas, etc--absolutely cannot not. No matter how long the jars are boiled.
Here's a discussion of the theory and principles behind water bath canning. It's good background knowledge if you want to be a more-informed home canner.
www.healthycanning.com
I have a sous vide (not sure if you do) and checked with Samin Nosrat's Chez Panisse Sous Vide lemon curd (using Meyer & Eureka lemons). This is a no-work version, but she states it lasts 5 days in the refrigerator and nothing about being shelf/pantry stable. That's because it never gets about 180 degrees. So that's a no in my book for her version.
However I'll probably try this if/when I find $$ Meyer lemons that don't require an organ donation.
I'm posting this recipe as much for myself as for all of you. I need to record it somewhere public, so I have access to it wherever I am. There are countless Meyer lemon curd recipes, and many dozens of them are Chez Panisse versions, but this is the version that they serve in th
ciaosamin.com
This next link talks about canning lemon curd, but the thing I had to research here was whether her term "water bath canner" required a special appliance. It isn't a pressure cooker, but it also does NOT required a sealed pot lid. So simply submerging the jars in boiling water for the required time (read her comments carefully as the timing is important) is sufficient. Leaving the lid off just waste more energy.
Citrus curd is one of the few ways to safely can up eggs at home. There’s plenty of high acid citrus juice which means that it’s safe for water bath canning. Canning le…
practicalselfreliance.com
RE: Pierre Herme's lemon cream version. That is basically lemon curd with 500% more butter (4 TBL versus 20 TBL). The key there is to make sure the hot lemon/sugar/egg mixture is cooled down to 140 or less BEFORE adding the butter. Otherwise it will not emulsify correctly and the butter will leech to the top. I've used this to stretch out number of jars...and it lasted over 6 months in the refrigerator...bottom shelf, against back wall (coldest spot).