Best Ways to Zest a lemon

If you don’t have a zester lying around the kitchen, you can also use a vegetable peeler, or even a small, sharp knife. Work the peeler from the lemon’s top to bottom, peeling off a strip of the citrus’ skin. Be sure to only peel off the lemon skin’s topmost layer. If you’re able to see any white on the skin’s underside, you’re using too much pressure, and may have or are about to penetrate the pith.

A boxed cheese grater is a secret weapon that most home cooks already have in their cabinet. Make sure to use one with the small holes for grating cheese, not the larger holes for grated cheese.

Using a cheese grater:

Place the lemon on the side of the cheese grater that has the smallest holes.

Move it back and forth, paying close attention to the placement of your fingers.

Continue grating the lemon until all the yellow part is removed.

By far my favorite method to use when you want finely grated lemon zest. A Microplane is a specific kitchen tool used to remove the brightly colored pulp from citrus fruits.

Using a Microplane:

Hold the lemon in one hand and the Microplane in the other.

Move the lemon back and forth over the racks, turning as you go. Pay close attention to the location of your fingers. (A Microplane has very sharp edges and can easily cut you!)

Continue to grate the lemon until the yellow peel is removed.

Zesters are designed to make shallow cuts on the lemon’s skin which peels off the oil-filled skin while keeping the pith intact. Run the zester’s sharp end down through the lemon without applying too much pressure. Once you begin to slide, you’ll begin to feel how much pressure you need to apply for producing the perfect ribbons of your lemon (or any other citrus). Don’t use the zester over the same area twice, or you might penetrate the pith.