Adding orange zest to recipes is a quick and easy method to boost the flavor.
Perfect for cranberry sauce, cookies, cakes, and other delectable foods. I’ll teach you three different techniques to get the best orange zest and how to use it in dishes!
What is Orange Zest, exactly?
Food: Orange Zest (Source: Spice Mountain)Orange zest is made up of very fine orange peel bits (or very long thin strips). Because it’s such a simple way to add a pop of orange flavor to a dish, it’s popular as a garnish and an ingredient.
Orange zest can be found in a variety of dishes, ranging from baked products to sauces and marinades to cocktails.
Orange Zest Recipe
It’s simple to zest an orange, yet knowing how to do so comes in handy more often than you might expect. The best part is that you don’t need a zester! A microplane grater (or box grater) or simply a vegetable peeler and knife would suffice.
First and foremost. You should thoroughly wash the orange because you’ll be eating the skin.
Holding an orange in your hand and zesting it with your selected instrument is the simplest method (more on that below). Make sure to rotate the orange to get the most out of the peel.
Note: Don’t cut the orange too deeply. The orange peel’s white inner layer is quite bitter. You don’t want to put it in your food by accident!
Don’t toss the remainder of the orange away! You’ve got a tasty, healthy snack on your hands now that it’s been zested!
3 Simple Zesting Techniques
Food: Orange Zest (Source: Spice Mountain)Zester – A zester is a small, handheld instrument for peeling citrus zest that isn’t too fine. The peel comes off in long, thin strips using a zester, which is ideal for garnishing cocktails or pastries.
Microplane grater — This is my preferred way of achieving a very fine texture. Because the zest becomes so fine, it may adhere to the grater; however, you can scrape it off with your finger or simply wash it with water.
If you don’t have a microplane grater, you can accomplish the same thing with a box grater! Simply press the orange against the grater’s tiny holes until the desired amount of zest is obtained.
Method of “peeling and chopping” – What, no grater? No worries! Remove large strips of orange peel with a vegetable peeler. Just be careful not to go too far with the peeling. Chop the peel as finely as possible.
This method, like the zester, is particularly useful for adding a garnish to a drink or dish. Are you missing a veggie peeler? Instead, a sharp paring knife could be used; just be careful not to cut too deeply!