lemon zest

Years ago I treated myself to a rasp, a tool sold in hardware stores, after reading an article in the NY Times. Of course, it caught on like wild fire and now a tool like it is sold in every kitchenwares dept. Treat yourself, it is quick, easy, and most important of all FRESH!!!

Dried lemon (or orange) zest in a jar is no substitute for the fresh! The flavor isn't even close! If you don't want to make fresh zest, go to King Arthur Flour online and get their bottled pure citrus oils. They have lemon, orange and lime. These pure oils give a much better flavor to your recipes than dried zest could ever dream of!

Depends on the size of the holes on your cheese grater. If there are really small holes it might work. Just be gentle. Otherwise you could try using a vegetable peeler to peel off strips of the zest (without the bitter white pith) which you can mince. Best tool for the job is a Microplane zester if you think you will continue to want to zest lemons. Lemons keep in fridge for a long time, and the zester is about $10 so I recommend that route.

Is there a special tool I need to zest a lemon? I have a cheese grator, would that work?

As I said, I haven't used it yet, so can't vouch for flavor. Depending on the recipe, a fresh lemon might be better. I would probably test out the dried stuff in something longer cooking.

Thanks. I have not purchased it yet but I will keep that in mind.

ha ha! That above answer is from me!

Do you mean the dried or dehydrated zest? I received a jar of Penzey's which, though I haven't used it, says 1 tablespoon is equivalent to zest of a medium lemon. It also advises that you rehdrate it first.