Zest a Lemon

Often I add lemon zest to my recipes to add some color and a little punch of flavor. I especially enjoy this in the summer months. I believe that I’ve perfected the art of zesting a lemon. By the way, this also works great for limes and oranges!

There are many different tools for zesting a lemon — zester, a knife, or a fine grater. For adding flavor to a dish, I prefer the Microplane version of the fine grater. It produces a beautiful light zest that melds into a dish and gives great flavor. If I’m zesting the lemon to add color for garnishment, then I really like the zest tool.

To zest with the Microplane, simply rub the lemon in one direction against the little blades. While applying pressure, turn the lemon as you go so you remove only the yellow part — the zest. You don’t want the white pith just beneath, it’s very bitter.

Zest just the yellow part of the lemon rind. Similarly, them lime and orange zest would be the colored skin of the fruit.

If you use a traditional zester, finely chop the strands with a knife. The finer the zest, the more it will permeate the dish. A zester produces long, thin strands of zest, which I prefer for garnishing those bland-looking dishes.

To get the most flavor out of lemon zest, add it near the end of cooking your dish.

What dishes do you add zest to? Do you have any creative ideas to use a zesting tool?