How To Zest A Lemon

Learn how to zest a lemon with or without a zester so you can give your favorite recipes a citrusy punch! I’ll show you how to use five tools you have in your kitchen – like a vegetable peeler, cheese grater, or knife so you can zest a lemon like a pro!

 

Zesting Lemons

When it comes to bringing big flavor in an easy way to your baked goods – lemon zest is where it’s at! I’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying it again as an adult I’ve come to seriously love everything about a lemon dessert.

But for me a true lemon desserts needs to pack a citrus punch and they only way to accomplish this is to use the lemon zest in the dessert. Fresh lemon zest contains the natural oils of the lemon so it’s intense lemon flavor that you’re adding.

I love adding lemon zest to my desserts! Like making lemon curd for a lemon cheesecake or my popular lemon cookie recipe on the blog, or my easy lemon blueberry bread. Of course you can use these methods as well for savory dishes as well!

See Also:

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• Get room temperature eggs fast so you can start your baking recipe now and you don’t have to wait!
• If you need buttermilk but you’re fresh out, make homemade buttermilk easily with just a few simple ingredients.

Is lemon zest and lemon peel the same thing?

Lemon peel and lemon zest are both terms for the yellow outer layer of the citrus fruit, known as the lemon rind. It contains the natural oils, and therefore lots of lemon flavor!

Underneath the lemon rind is the white layer, known as the pith, which is bitter.

Five Tools To Use To Zest A Lemon

Here are five tools you can use to zest a lemon!

1. Microplane
2. Citrus Zester
3. Box grater (cheese grater)
4. Vegetable peeler
5. Sharp paring knife

Tips For Zesting Lemons

1. Don’t Go Too Far! – Meaning once you have zested off the yellow outer layer down to the white layer, or the bitter pith, stop zesting as that layer is bitter. Only the yellow part should be used.
2. Wash the fruit first. – The lemons can someties have a protective wax coating. It’s best to scrub the lemon first.
3. Save the extra lemon zest. You may not need all the zest of a lemon, but you can use it so many ways. So zest the whole lemon, and use what you need. Then try using the rest in a vinaigrette, or garnishing cocktails or drinks, or add zest to butter to finish off your savory dishes with.
4. Freeze the lemons. Once zested, the lemons won’t last long at room temperature. Store the zested lemons in a resealable plastic bag and freeze. You can thaw the lemons later and juice the lemons to use in recipes.

How to zest a lemon – 5 Ways!

When zesting lemons, it’s important to use only the yellow skin and not the white pith layer which is bitter. Make sure to to stop zesting a lemon once you get down to the white pith.

You can use any of the methods for zesting a lemon to do the same for any citrus fruits – such as lime zest or orange zest!

Microplane

Using a microplane I think is the easiest and my favorite way to zest a lemon. A microplane makes quick work of zesting a lemon and they’re fairly inexpensive.

How to zest a lemon with a microplane

1. Hold the lemon in one hand and the microplane in the other hand on top of lemon with the sharp side next to the yellow skin over a cutting board.
2. Move the microplane back and forth across the lemon so the zest collects inside the microplane.
3. Using your finger, scrape out the zest that has collected. Or simply turn it over and tap the microplane so the zest falls out.

Citrus Zester

A citrus zester is just as it says it is – a tool for zesting citrus! It has five small holes that when pressed against the fruit will remove the peel in long strips.

Your citrus zester may also have a channel knife that can be used to make lemon twists, that you might use to garnish drinks with.

How to zest a lemon with a citrus zester

1. Hold the citrus zester in one hand and lemon in the other.
2. Starting at the top of the lemon, press down on the zester so the holes dig into the lemon and glide it down the fruit.
3. Depending on the size of the zest, you may want to chop it finely with a sharp knife.

To get a lemon twist, you would want to use the channel knife part of the zester. Dig the knife into the lemon and rotate the lemon so you get a long peel. Then twist the peel to curl it. You can also twist the peel around a straw to help shape into a curl.

Use a box grater

You can use a box grater, or hand held cheese grater as an effective way to zest a lemon! Use the tiniest holes on the box grater to zest the outer peel.

How to zest a lemon with a cheese grater

1. Use the smallest holes on the box grater. Keep the box grater on a cutting board.
2. Hold the lemon at the top of the grater and press the lemon in a downward direction against the grater.
3. Make sure to rotate the lemon as you grate, to avoid grating the white pith layer.

The zest will collect inside the grater. Simply use your hand to scoop out the lemon peel on the inside. If any of the lemon zest gets stuck inside the grater, simply give it a tap for it to release and fall out.

Use a vegetable peeler

This is probably one tool you have in your cabinets! And it makes a great way to zest a lemon. This takes a little more work but totally doable when you don’t have a microplane or citrus zester.

How to zest a lemon with a vegetable (potato) peeler

1. Press the sharp edge of the peeler against the lemon, and push into fruit.
2. Pull down on the peeler, making sure to only push down hard enough to remove the yellow outer layer.
3. Continue removing slices of the peel, rotating the lemon as you peel.
4. With a sharp knife, finely chop the lemon peel.

Sharp Paring Knife

If you have none of the tools above, nothing works better than a sharp knife! Use a sharp knife, like a sharp paring knife to zest a lemon.

How to zest a lemon with a knife

1. Using a sharp knife, preferably a sharp paring knife, cut off one end of the lemon (to stand it upright) or hold it safely on a cutting board.
2. Cut the peel off, by cutting away from you at an angle and cut the peel into large strips.
3. Continue cutting off large strips of lemon peel.
4. Then finely chop the lemon rind.

How much zest does a lemon have?

This can vary, but usually you can get about 1 tablespoon. Every lemon is different, so if you need a specific amount it’s best to get a couple lemons to be sure, zest them, and then measure it out.

And each lemon will have about 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.

How To Store Citrus Zest

You can store lemon zest in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 1 week. Any longer and the lemon zest will lose it’s natural oils.

For longer storage, you can freeze lemon zest for up to 3 weeks. Again any longer and the lemon zest flavor will start to decrease.

Lemon Zest Substitute

I don’t think there’s really anything quite like adding fresh lemon zest, but if you’re in a pinch here are a few good lemon zest substitutes:

• Lemon Juice – For each teaspoon of lemon zest, replace with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice as a good lemon zest substitute.
• Lemon extract – Replace a teaspoon of lemon zest with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract.
• Other citrus fruit – Replace one medium lemon with the zest of one lime or use meyer lemons instead.

How to use Lemon Zest

Now that you have a lovely pile of lemon zest, let’s get to bake with some of it! Here are my favorite recipes to use with lemon zest.

• Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake
• Lemon Macarons
• Lemon Bars
• Lemon Cheesecake Bars