How to zest a fruit?
You will have no doubt noticed that many recipes call for the zest of citrus fruit. The zest is that outer layer of the skin which adds so much flavour to a dish.
There are many different ways to peel off the zest and various tools are available. Here is a summary of the “dos and don'ts” of zesting.
There are many different ways to peel off the zest and various tools are available. Here is a summary of the “dos and don'ts” of zesting.
43 K 3.8/5 (59 reviews)
Keywords for this post:ZestZisteZesterGraterFruitCitrusSkinPeelLast modified on: November 5th 2013
How to zest a fruit?
Good fruits
First and foremost: zesting a fruit means removing the upper, outer part of the rind, which also happens to be the part that receives most of the chemical treatment inflicted on the fruit.
So be careful: you absolutely must wash the fruit thoroughly before zesting it, but the best thing to do is to use organic fruit, which is guaranteed to be untreated.
The right part of the fruit
The part of the peel that can be zested is generally very thin, 1 millimetre or less, so it's very important to remove only the coloured part of the peel - the zest - and not the white part underneath, which is not zest but a major source of bitterness, to be avoided at all costs!
In this photo, you can see the zest on the right and the white part of the peel on the left.
The right tools
There are a number of more or less effective tools for zesting:
1) The peeler or a sharp knife: with it, you delicately "peel" the fruit and obtain small strips of zest (colored, remember: no white) which you then have to cut into strips, then into tiny pieces. It's not very fast, nor very efficient, but it works.
2) The zester: this is a strangely-shaped knife that zests by making tiny filaments. The structure of the zester means that you can't remove any white parts, which is interesting. The only drawback is that the zest obtained is a little "crushed" and "exuded", so it's not great.
3) The zester grater: This is a bit like a cheese grater, very fine, on which you rub the fruit while rotating it (be careful, it's the fruit that moves, not the grater).
It's by far the most efficient of all tools, and you can find out more about it on this page.
Lasts posts
The thermometer is your friend
There are many recipes or foods that require a (very) precise cooking temperature: foie gras, sugar for caramel, meats and fish, and not forgetting pastries. For these few examples, getting the cooking temperature wrong can spoil the whole recipe or dish: undercooked, it's no good or misses the...April 10th 20258365
Travel cakes
You may have come across the term "travel cakes" ("gateaux de voyage" in french) for certain pastries, so let's take a look at what they're all about.January 27th 20252,736
The aromatic power of sugar
In the kitchen, sugar doesn't just sweeten, it also has an exceptional ability to capture flavors. Combined with aromatic ingredients, such as citrus zest, it acts as a veritable sponge for aromas. By taking the time to let the sugar soak up the flavors, you can transform your desserts, making...December 25th 20243,1035
The little trap of thick cream
When you need to add cream to a recipe, you might be wondering: thick (heavy) cream or liquid cream? In most cases, there's no big difference: you can use either. But there is one exception, and that's when the cream needs to be cooked, for a sauce for example, and here the difference between...December 13th 20243,3665
Sauce and salad: When and how to mix them?
When dressing a salad, there's a kind of golden rule: add the dressing very shortly before serving, especially if your salad contains crunchy elements such as croutons or fresh vegetables, which will retain their crunchiness or crispiness. But, as is often the case in the kitchen, there are...November 29th 20243,4965
Other pages you may also like
Small, regular pieces
When we cook, bake or pastry, we often have to cut food into small pieces, often cubes, to incorporate them into a recipe or preparation. How do you get regular pieces fairly quickly?November 28th 20206,8494.5
Divide and weigh dough into regular pieces
When you prepare dough for cupcakes in a pastry shop or bakery, at some point you're going to have to divide it, i.e. cut it into small pieces, which should all have the same weight. Sounds simple enough, but is it really that simple?May 30th 20237,4265
The thermometer is your friend
There are many recipes or foods that require a (very) precise cooking temperature: foie gras, sugar for caramel, meats and fish, and not forgetting pastries. For these few examples, getting the cooking temperature wrong can spoil the whole recipe or dish: undercooked, it's no good or misses the...April 10th 20258365
From website to blog
Hello everyone, Today I'm inaugurating the cooking-ez.com "blog". The idea is to have a space for discussion open to everone, but not necessarily linked to a particular recipe or page. I hope the posts will be sufficiently interesting that you'll enjoy reading and discussing them. The...January 1st 201117 K3.9
85 grams of eggs?
Some time ago, I already spoke to you about the difference between baking and pastry-making, I emphasized, among other things, the precision of pastry-making which requires grams, cm, degrees and minutes. That's why, on the one hand, you have baking and cooking, where a certain tolerance is...November 26th 201850 K4.6
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: 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.