This site uses only a few technical cookies necessary for its operation. By continuing to browse, you accept their use.
To find out more...
To find out more...
Zester like a pro
Have you heard of the microplane? It's an extraordinary tool that allows you to grate very, very finely, and therefore zest with disconcerting ease.
Here's some information about it.
Here's some information about it.
9,603 4.9/5 (15 reviews)
Keywords for this post:ZestToolGraterPeelCitrusFineLast modified on: December 25th 2020
Zester like a pro
I'm not telling you anything new, but a lot of recipes use the zest of a fruit, citrus fruits in particular, and removing it is not as easy as you might think.
In fact, you may have already seen this tool here:
It's a zester or a zester knife, which has the advantage of making nice long zests, but which are almost totally exuded, i.e. a little crushed, squeezed, and so the essence of the fruit you're trying to get is more on your fingers or the zester than in the recipe, too bad.
It's more a tool of the past, now there's something much better, and that's the zester grater, it looks like a big file, and as the main brand, the one that launched the tool is Microplane, all the professionals now say one or the microplane.
It doesn't sound like a revolutionary tool, and yet it is. It looks like a large file, as I said, and it's more or less the same principle: tiny teeth in highly resistant stainless steel, and it allows you to zest any fruit you want with extreme finesse, producing a kind of fine powder that blends easily into any recipe, and contains all the essences and flavors of the fruit worked on.
How do you use it? Well, that's the trick: intuitively, you'd use it just like a file: you hold the fruit in one hand, the microplane in the other, and grate the surface, passing it all around the fruit.
Not a good idea, though, as you're going to get zest everywhere but where it needs to be - I'm exaggerating.
No, in fact it's the other way round: your hand holding the microplane doesn't move, it's the one holding the fruit that moves, from the handle to the tip.
And you do this without going back and forth, just one way and then you rotate the fruit a little on itself to zest a new part, and so on.
Well, when you put it like that, it sounds very complicated, and at first it's a bit confusing, this tool that doesn't move while the fruit does, but once you get the hang of it, you'll see. What's more, the amazing quality of the zest harvested is well worth this little change of habit.
The microplane can also be used to grate a whole host of other things, including Parmesan cheese.
Pastry chefs also use it, like a file for that matter, to smooth out their tart, tartelette or cookie bases after baking, for a near-perfect final appearance.
To sum up: to zest a fruit, nothing beats a grater (microplane or other), in which case the tool remains fixed, it's the fruit that moves.
In fact, you may have already seen this tool here:
It's a zester or a zester knife, which has the advantage of making nice long zests, but which are almost totally exuded, i.e. a little crushed, squeezed, and so the essence of the fruit you're trying to get is more on your fingers or the zester than in the recipe, too bad.
It's more a tool of the past, now there's something much better, and that's the zester grater, it looks like a big file, and as the main brand, the one that launched the tool is Microplane, all the professionals now say one or the microplane.
It doesn't sound like a revolutionary tool, and yet it is. It looks like a large file, as I said, and it's more or less the same principle: tiny teeth in highly resistant stainless steel, and it allows you to zest any fruit you want with extreme finesse, producing a kind of fine powder that blends easily into any recipe, and contains all the essences and flavors of the fruit worked on.
How do you use it? Well, that's the trick: intuitively, you'd use it just like a file: you hold the fruit in one hand, the microplane in the other, and grate the surface, passing it all around the fruit.
Not a good idea, though, as you're going to get zest everywhere but where it needs to be - I'm exaggerating.
No, in fact it's the other way round: your hand holding the microplane doesn't move, it's the one holding the fruit that moves, from the handle to the tip.
And you do this without going back and forth, just one way and then you rotate the fruit a little on itself to zest a new part, and so on.
Well, when you put it like that, it sounds very complicated, and at first it's a bit confusing, this tool that doesn't move while the fruit does, but once you get the hang of it, you'll see. What's more, the amazing quality of the zest harvested is well worth this little change of habit.
The microplane can also be used to grate a whole host of other things, including Parmesan cheese.
Pastry chefs also use it, like a file for that matter, to smooth out their tart, tartelette or cookie bases after baking, for a near-perfect final appearance.
To sum up: to zest a fruit, nothing beats a grater (microplane or other), in which case the tool remains fixed, it's the fruit that moves.
Lasts posts
Cut twice as fast
When you need to cut something long into small pieces, for example chopped chives or the stem of a spring onion, there's a simple gesture that doubles your cutting speed. Let's see how.May 21th 2026782
The other use for bowl scraper
Your kitchen or bakery utensils may include a horn (left) or a pastry cutter (right). These practical utensils are normally used to scoop the contents of a bowl or salad bowl - the horn - or to cut dough - the pastry cutter. But they also have another, very practical use - let's see what it is.May 9th 20261,181
The strange foam of potatoes in milk
As you may have already noticed, when you cook potatoes in milk, especially in small pieces (slices or cubes) for a gratin for example, a surprisingly abundant white foam forms on the surface. Where does it come from?April 26th 20261,367
A little leftover butter
Very often when you're making a cake, your recipe will tell you to melt some butter and mix it into the batter - a classic for cookies, cakes, moelleux and the like. And every time you do this, you'll have to butter the baking tin to prevent the dough from sticking during baking. Naturally,...April 16th 20261,3095
A tablet holder
Perhaps you too cook by consulting your recipe on a tablet or phone, and putting it down on your worktop? It's practical, but not the best solution. Here's a look at how you can make an inexpensive, almost universal stand.March 14th 20262,0425
Other pages you may also like
Incise some meats before cooking
Have you ever had this rather unpleasant phenomenon: you grill a meat, a pork chop or a veal cutlet for example, and during cooking it becomes completely deformed? It takes a very strange shape, a bit difficult to describe, a sort of cone around the central area of the meat, which also hinders...June 19th 202113 K4.9
The skin of the almonds
If you like almonds, in their dried fruit version, you must use them quite often in cooking or baking, whether powdered or whole. It is not obvious, but in fact there is 2 kinds of almonds in the market, wholesale with or without the skin. .February 8th 202025 K4.7
Steam for baking bread
What does steam have to do with bread-making? This is not only a bakers' secret, it is something you might not think of at all: if you make bread and bake it like a cake, you will end up with bread, but pale and with a thick, hard crust – a long way from the golden-brown crusty loaf you had in...June 16th 2021150 K4.5
Salt and yeast
Let's take a look at an old baker's legend: You may have already read that somewhere in a recipe that uses baker's yeast(bread, pastries, leavened doughs in general) it is often specified "Don't put salt in contact with the yeast, you'll kill it (the yeast)"! Well, that's a belief, and there are...March 15th 201975 K4.3
Sugar syrups
In cooking, and especially in pastry, we often use sugar syrups, a simple mixture of water and sugar in varying proportions. Here is a presentation of their differences. .January 17th 202314 K4.8
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
Receive an e-mail as soon as this page is modified or receives a new comment.
We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.