Zest or Peel & Make Citrus Garnishes

Lemon, Orange and Lime Citrus Zest or Peel: With just a few movements of the grater, you can add lots flavor with citrus peel, also called zest, to your batter. It's the oils in the peel that gives the fragrant flavor. Key limes are not good for zesting because the skins are so thin, but regular limes are. Fruit is easier to zest before squeezing. Flavored citrus or candy oils can be used to substitute, and I recommend them highly. I often substitute a total of 1/4 teaspoon pure citrus oil PER recipe (you can always add more after tasting)--the citrus oils actually have a more intense flavor than the fresh zest. The oils are very strong, so do not overdo it !

One lemon yields approximately 1 tablespoon of zest. One large orange yields approximately 2 tablespoons of zest. A yield of a lime is hard to predict because the thickness of the skin varies so much. Key limes, because of their thin skins, do not zest well. Use a regular lime, instead.

TO ZEST: When grating the zest, be sure to use only the colored part of the peel, don't grate or cut into the bitter white pith underneath. Choose pebbly-textured (not smooth) and thick-skinned fruit, and then wash and dry it carefully before zesting. Zest are best grated and used immediately. Extra zest can be immersed in a light sugar syrup and kept for a day or two, well-covered. There are a couple of different ways to zest:

3. Use a zesting tool which peels off thin strips of peel, that can be chopped finer, if desired. You can also use paring knife or vegetable peeler to remove the zest; then scrape as much of the bitter white pith off it as possible. Make sure the peel is yellow on both sides; you don't want the white part or the pith. Chop into small pieces.