Help, curdled lemon sauce...

[Eat Dalink, Eat]

I have only tried to add lemon to a cream sauce a few times, but each time, without fail, the lemon curdles the sauce. I've been avoiding recipes that call for the two ingredients. I think I need to face my fear...
Does anyone know the secret to combining cream/milk and lemon in a heated sauce?
Thanks,
Lisa

[Eat Dalink, Eat]

O.K., I'm bumping this up in the hopes someone will know the answer...

[Shirley Panek]

I've never made a cream sauce with lemon, so I don't have any great advice. Have you tried a lower heat when adding in the juice, and making sure the lemon juice is at room temperature? I'd also make sure I was constantly stirring (with a whisk) until it seems incorporated.

Maybe some of our other cooking gurus would have some help.

[Gail]

Shirley has it nailed.

Did you try popping it into the blender after it curdled? I understand that works once the damage has been done. Just to be super cautious, I've always done hollandaise over a double boiler and as a safeguard I keep an ice cube nearby to toss in, in the event some curdling begins. If you're cooking on a gas range, maybe a diffuser plate might be necessary for a lower heat.

Here's what one of my books has to say:

Remove sauce from the heat at once. For delicate sauces, such as hollandaise, add an ice cube to retard further cooking. Beat hard with a hand beater or whisk (having removed the ice cube). If necessary, strain the sauce, too. For other sauces, try adding a little cream, then continue cooking. Next time use a double boiler or lower heat, stir constantly, and add the fragile curdle-producing ingredients (usually eggs, cream, sour cream-- at room temperature) just before serving. Also pay attention to the weather. Sauces are more likely to curdle in humid weather, perhaps especially during thunderstorms.

From: How to Repair Food

I can remember curdling a sauce badly only once when I tried to reheat the Sensuous Scampi sauce over too high a heat (and I didn't know about the above tricks.) Some kitchen chores require great patience...

Hope that helps.

[Eat Dalink, Eat]

Thanks, so much for the advice. I did take the sauce off the heat, but I think the lemon was cold and I couldn't wisk it because the sauce required asparagus tips to be added before the lemon juice (which was the last ingredient)which prevented any rigorous stirring. I will heed your advice in the future!
Thanks,
Lisa