How to Zest a Lemon without a Zester

5 from 1 vote

How to Zest a Lemon without a Zester

Not all kitchen tools are necessary and a zester is one of them. Learn How to Zest a Lemon without a Zester using these easy ways. Many of these tips use standard kitchen tools or utensils you probably already own.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: American

Servings: Lemon

Calories: 31kcal

Author: Aimee Mars

Ingredients

Lemon

Instructions

Cheese Grater Instructions

If using a box grater set it over a bowl or on top of a flat surface and place the lemon on the side with the smallest holes. With a handheld cheese grater just hold the lemon as if it were a wedge of cheese and grate it into a bowl or your dish.
Drag the lemon down the side of the grater, making sure to watch your fingers, until the yellow rind of the skin is removed.
Repeat this step all around the lemon until you've got the desired amount of zest.

Zesting with a Vegetable Peeler

Place the peeler on one end of the fruit and pull it lengthwise toward the other end. You want to get as little of the white pith as possible and aim to get only the yellow rind.
Work your way around the lemon until the peel is removed.
Using a sharp knife cut the peel into small strips and then chop it into the zest making sure not to dice it too much. You want as little juice from the rind on the cutting board as possible to maintain the best flavor.

Zesting a Lemon Using a Knife

Slice off one end of the lemon and place the flat side down on a cutting board.
Cut into the yellow part of the lemon peel, but only as deep as the white pith (you don't want to remove the white part). Similar to using the vegetable peeler slice the peel off from the top to the bottom.
If any white pith remains remove it from the peel using the knife.
Cut the peel into strips and chop the strips down into smaller pieces.

Using a Julienne Peeler for Zesting

Hold the lemon in your hand and place the julienne peeler at the tip of one end of the lemon.
Carefully drag the peeler down to the other end of the lemon making sure to not press too hard into the peel. You want to remove the yellow peel only and not the white pith.
You can use the julienned lemon peel as is or chop it into smaller zest-sized pieces.

Zesting a Lemon with a Fork

Hold the lemon with one hand and use the tines of a fork to gently scrape the surface of the lemon.
As with the other methods, be careful not to include the pith.

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