Lemon Zest - Frustrating Experience!! (wine, freeze, cupcakes, glass)

[hertfordshire]

Another vote for a microplane! I use mine for zesting citrus, for garlic and ginger, for nutmeg and cinnamon, chocolate, and even hard cheeses.

[Dogmama50]

Microplane here too. I even have a mini one that travels with us when we rent a vacation house. It's great for parmesan too, lots of cheese coverage on pasta without using a ton of cheese.

[reneeh63]

Originally Posted by Threestep

Use a microplane, work with your finger against the teeth on the front and the back of the file.

This is exactly what I do. I have a lemonade recipe that calls for 1 tablespoon EACH of lemon, orange, and lime zest - my microplane does it with ease...and that's a lot of zest!

My zester's strips are just too coarse for me, even after mincing them up with a knife - it's a pain and still doesn't come out the way I want it. I think a zester is best for more decorative use of the curls or if you really want it to show up on top of a dish?

[jade408]

Originally Posted by hertfordshire

Another vote for a microplane! I use mine for zesting citrus, for garlic and ginger, for nutmeg and cinnamon, chocolate, and even hard cheeses.

Same here. It is something that I use often. It turns hard cheeses into lovely fluffy dust that melts beautifully.

It is amazing for ginger and garlic too. Especially in dressings.

[lubby]

I also use a micro plane but I have a zester/grater and I hate it.

[mrs.cool]

I have a zester, from Pampered Chef. It definitely does NOT make "strips". Sure, some of the zest builds up on the underneath, but I just turn it over and scrape it out with my finger. Not a big deal. To clean it, I run it under the water.

[mrs.cool]

Hunh. I just watched that video, and turns out my "zester" from Pampered Chef is actually a "microplane".
No wonder I like it!!

[burdell]

Originally Posted by nmnita

I would agree except both zesters I have purchased and neither were cheap, didn't work that well. They didn't seem to be sharp enough.

Have you tried the Microplane brand ? I find they work great and in the long run well worth the $$$!

Originally Posted by nmnita

I have started just using the regular graders; agree with OP, hard to get the zest off.

Try laying a piece of plastic wrap over the grater before you start, makes it easier to remove the zest.

[marino760]

I have a zester, microplane and box grater. For the best mini ground up zest, I use the box grater. The side of it has the smallest holes and sort of grinds the zest so you don't end up with little chunks of it when you don't want little chunks. There's a trick to using it so you don't end up with most of the zest on the grater instead of where you want it to go. You grate in a very small area maybe just a couple of inches constantly rotating the lemon, lime or orange. Soon the grated zest begins to fall. Yes, it's more work and takes longer but it gives you a different result. In the end you get real zest that's tiny and ground and you don't notice it when you use the zest in recipes. You just get more zest flavor without feeling bits of zest in your mouth. I learned this from my Italian mother and grandmother who often used lemon zest in some Italian cooking.
That said all 3 different styles of zesters have their purpose.

[P47P47]

Those of us who already own Microplanes know this, but for those who are considering purchasing one, be aware that they will microplane the skin right off your fingers just as readily as they will take the zest off a lemon.

BE CAREFUL when using a Microplane.


Of course, you should be careful when using any sharp tools, keeping in mind that sharp tools are safe tools, tools that should be sharp but aren't are unsafe tools.