3 Easy Ways To Zest A Lemon: {Plus Tips}

Lemon zest is the outer peel of the fruit (without the white pith underneath) and is often used in baking and cooking because of the strong flavored oils it contains. Here are three different ways you can zest a lemon plus a few tips that include ideas for using the rest of the fruit peel (instead of wasting it).

Good to Know: These techniques also work for zesting other citrus fruits (like oranges and limes).

Ways To Zest A Lemon

Use a zester tool that will easily scrape away the bright yellow peel, it is designed to have sharp edges and holes that will pull up the zest as you drag the gadget across the fruit. This little gadget is a small but handy kitchen tool! You’ll also find a variation of this tool (Lemon Stripper) that removes the zest one strip at a time. I found a quick video on YouTube that shows you how both gadgets work (I added it below so you can view it if you like).
Use a grater with fine holes (a small hand grater is great but you can use the larger graters too–just use the side with the fine holes). Carefully drag the lemon across the grater and make sure to only grate the top bright yellow peel and not the white pith underneath.
If you have a sharp vegetable peeler, this also works great for zesting. Drag it across the lemon back and forth to pull up the peel then use a knife to cut off the strands of zest that are still attached to the fruit.

Preserving Zest

There are a few different ways you can save zest for future use…

Drying: Spread excess zest in a thin layer across a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper, allow to dry at room temperature for about 24 hours. Once fully dried, keep in an airtight container and store away from heat (pantry shelf or cupboard). Some prefer grinding the dried zest fine before storing.
Freezing: Wrap zest in plastic wrap then freeze in an airtight container. You can also freeze the peels like this then just grate the frozen peels as you need zest.
Refrigeration: Keep excess zest sealed in an airtight plastic bag and refrigerate until needed, will keep for a few days.

Tips

You’ll get about 1 tablespoon of zest from one medium lemon.
Handy Equivalents: 1 teaspoon fresh zest = 2 tablespoon juice = 1 teaspoon dried zest = 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract.
When zesting a lemon, make sure to leave behind the white pith, it’s bitter and typically avoided in recipes.
Have more zest than you need? Use it to make lemon sugar, it’s delicious in baking and added to beverages (like tea). Find ideas for using lemon peels here.