If you’re zesting a lot of lemons (say, forlemon curd), try this time-saving technique. It yields long, stringy curls oflemon zest—ideal for infusing sugar, curd, orsyrup with lemonyzing. These pretty lemon curlies can also be used as agarnish for desserts, likecookies orSuper Lemony Olive Oil Cake, or savory dishes likelemon risotto. If you’re just after the aromatic essence and don’t want large curls of zest in the finished dish, you can strain them out.
How to do it:Hold the lemon in your hand like a baseball and firmly run theMicroplane over the lemon’s surface from the top to the bottom in one long swoop, resulting in larger curls of zest. Rotate the lemon and continue zesting in stripes until you’ve covered the entire surface area of the lemon, with no yellow skin remaining.
Technique 3: The Twist
What’s it for:Garnishing co*cktails, candying citrus peels.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Gerri K. Williams
If you’re working on yourhome bartending skills (or want to fancify your afternoon seltzer),garnish your drink with a twist of lemon. Instead of aMicroplane, which has lots of tiny blades, achievelemon peel spirals with achannel knife, a handheld tool with a curved blade at its head. A channel knife (which often has acitrus zester on the other end) digs long, thick tunnels in the lemonrind, yielding sturdy citrus spirals togarnish drinks, like aChampagne co*cktail orlemon drop martini. This method will leave some of the pith intact, but that’s what helps the spiral hold its shape. To makecandiedcitrus peels, blanch the curls in boiling water, simmer them in simple syrup, and coat them in sugar.
How to do it:Starting at the top of the lemon, dig the channel knife beneath the lemon skin and rotate to peel one long strip around the lemon’s circumference. Peel in one continuous motion, moving in a spiral down the fruit, or opt for multiple shorter strips. To make a spiral shape, twirl the strip around your finger.
Viski Channel Knife
Technique 4: Wide strips
What’s it for:Fuss-free garnishes, big-batch drinks, lemon zest emergencies.
Zach DeSart
While we consider aMicroplane an essential addition to anyone’s cooking arsenal, not allhome cooks have one. If you don’t have the abovegadgets on hand, turn to a kitchen drawer mainstay: thevegetable peeler. Use the peeler (or, if you don’t have that either, aparing knife) to make wide strips oflemon peel, ideal for infusinglemonade orpots of chickpeas with citrusy flavor. They make a low-maintenancegarnish for glasses oflemon-ginger tonic (take the same approach with blood oranges for thisspiced blood orange shrub); you can also slice them into thin strips to top bowls ofpasta al limone. In a pinch, you can finelymince wide strips oflemon peel as a substitute for finely gratedlemon zest, but note that theMicroplane achieves a finer, fluffier texture that’s difficult to replicate with a knife.
How to do it:Using avegetable peeler, peel large strips of lemonrind, taking care to avoid thewhite pith. If desired, stack them on acutting board and use a sharpparing knife to cut the lemonrind into thin strips or finelymince into itty-bitty pieces.
Kuhn Rikon Y-Peeler, Set of Three
When life gives you lemons…
Use lemon zest in any number of ways: It can swing savory (addlemon zest togremolata, an herby, citrusy condiment to sprinkle over just about any dish) or sweet (massagefresh lemon zest into sugar and incorporate it into baked goods). Try thishoney-glazed Easter bread recipe, wherelemon zest pairs up withlemon extract to deliver extra zingy,zesty flavor. Or go for a sweet-and-savory combo withthis preserved lemon tea cake that triples down on thelemon flavor with juice, zest, and the titular preserves.
Explore more of our favoritelemon recipes.
