Lemon extract and lemon peel powder equivalents

With all due respect, I tried the finger rubbing technique and while it does work beautifully, it also seems to leave a lot of oil within the tiny lines in your fingerprints -- Why else would your fingertips smell so good for a full day afterwards? -- so I've gone back to the method my mother taught me as a girl, to achieve the same result: rub it into the bowl with the back of a metal spoon. Press down hard, stir it around, press down some more -- the way we creamed butter and sugar before we had a mixer. It works well! Also, I always chop my shredded zest with sugar (or salt, for savory dishes), when not using a microplane. Sometimes, you want tiny but perceptible bits of zest in a recipe, so the traditional pull zester (five or six small holes) produces a better result. (A fleeting burst of zest on the tongue is a lovely thing. You just don't get that with a microplane.) I pull the zest directly onto a small pile of sugar and then chop away, knowing that the oils and juice will be absorbed. ;o)

Here's the recipe: http://www.myspicesage.com/Cream-Cheese-Lemon-Cookies-Recipe-blog-187.html As you see, they do include a glaze at the end, which would be much tastier made with lemon juice than the milk the recipe specifies!

Thanks so much for the tips and the link to the e-cookbooks table - I think I'll just stick with fresh lemon zest, and Dorie, your idea of rubbing the zest with the sugar is genius!

Like the others, I'm curious about what you're making, but 1 tablespoon of lemon extract or lemon oil is a really large dose of the stuff. Perhaps too large. Depending on the recipe, I'd do what you want to do: go with zest and fresh juice. If you use zest, here's a tip on how to get every bit of flavor from it: grate the zest onto the recipe's sugar and use your hands to rub the ingredients together until the sugar is moist and wildly aromatic.

imo, lemon oil and orange oil are really fake tasting,and dried lemon zest is also yech, so you're much better off with fresh lemon
zest. as others have asked, what is the recipe for?cake, cookies, creme brulee? that would affect my response w/ regards to lemon juice's place in your recipe.

I always thought that lemon extract was made from lemon oil, which is located in the peel. Assuming that is so, it would be a very concentrated form of lemon zest (squeezed the oil out of it) and then powdered lemon peel would probably be zest dried and powdered (kind of funny isn't it: lemon extract [the oil from lemon zest] + powdered lemon peel [dried and powdered left over after the oil is extracted] would seem to equal lemon zest). Long way of saying I totally agree with the others and the issue is going to be a proper replacement amount (using zest only; save the juice for something else. It freezes nicely -- particularly in handy ice cube trays so you can defrost just a bit when you want it). Assuming you like lemon taste, I'd go with SU that you really can't have too much, and would think in terms of 5T finely grated (microplanes are fabulous) zest to replace the 1T oil + powder. (it would take considerable zest to get 1 T oil)

In my opinion you can't have too much lemon zest (well, your arm would get tired before you reached that point). I would skip the lemon juice - I don't think extract really has any of the acidity of lemon juice - and just sub a tablespoon or two of fresh zest for the extract. But please let us know what you are making !

By the way, I found this interesting table on http://www.e-cookbooks.net/ingredeq.htm
[Reformatted]
1 tsp dried lemon peel = 1 to 2 tsp grated fresh lemon peel OR the grated peel of 1 medium lemon OR 1/2 tsp lemon extract.
I'm glad I found this, as it will be handy for me to know, too. The acidity in the lemon juice itself can affect many cooking and especially baking outcomes, which is why you often see lemon zest or extract called for in recipes. That's also why I asked what you're making. If it were a baked good, including one with yeast, I'd probably just use the zest for both the dried lemon peel and the extract. I might find some way to work in the lemon juice, e.g., to make an icing or glaze, after the item is baked. But I'm still interested in knowing what you're making!! ;o)

What exactly is the recipe? The other ingredients and how they're used might well affect how the substitutions would work . . . ;o) P.S. I suspect that your way will be much better!!