How To Zest A Lemon Without Special Tools

Lemon zest is a delicious and versatile ingredient. It's used in all sorts of cooking, from sweet desserts to savory dishes, and even in drinks!

Normally, the best way to get the zest from a lemon is by using a zester - this is a special tool designed for removing lemon zest, and has small holes that are used to scrape the zest from the lemon's skin.

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However, there's always the chance that you'll want to zest a lemon but you don't have a proper zester handy.

But don't worry - there are plenty of ways to zest a lemon without the need for any fancy tools!

In this guide, we'll take you through some of the best and easiest ways to get zest from a lemon without any special tools so you don't ever have to worry about how to get lemon zest ever again.

So let's dive right in!

What Is Lemon Zest?

First things first - what exactly is lemon zest? Well, it's the thin layer of colored part on top of lemons.

This is where most of the flavor resides, so when you're making recipes like cakes or cookies, you'll often see instructions telling you to "zest" your lemons before adding them to other ingredients.

And while they might sound complicated, zesting a lemon isn't actually very difficult at all.

Lemon zest contains plenty of aromatic oils that are bursting with flavor and fragrant lemon scents.

How To Get The Zest Out Of A Lemon Without Using Special Tools

Now that you know what lemon zest is, it's time to learn how to get the most out of a lemon without needing any special tools.

There are several different methods for doing this, depending on whether you want to use a regular kitchen knife, a citrus reamer, or something else entirely.

Let's go over each method one-by-one:

Use A Cheese Grater

A cheese grater is a good alternative to a zester in a pinch.

While it won't be quite as effective at separating the zest from the rest of the lemon, you can still use it to remove a decent amount of the zest.

All you need to do is gently rub the lemon against the finer side of a grater.

Don't apply too much pressure, as this can lead to you grating part of the pith or the flesh of the lemon instead of just removing the zest.

This method only works if your cheese grater has a side with fine holes.

Coarse sides like a shredder or planer won't be effective at getting the zest, and can be too shallow to even break the peel.

You want to use the small, rough holes that are raised from the surface of the grater.

If your cheese grater has a zesting side or a rasp-style style grater, then this is ideal as it is the best way to use a cheese grater for zesting.

Dice The Peel

Another way to get some lemon zest is by removing and finely dicing some peel.

There are two ways you can do this - you can use a regular vegetable peeler, or simply use a small paring knife.

The main difference between these two methods is that the former will give you cleaner results than the latter.

With a vegetable peeler, you'll end up with larger pieces of the peel without having to put in too much effort.

A knife, meanwhile, is a bit trickier to use - you'll have to be careful when removing the peel in order to avoid getting some pith or the flesh of the lemon with the zest.

Once you've removed some peel, cut it into thin strips. Remove any pith from the strips. Gather all the strips together, and use a knife to finely dice them into tiny pieces.

Once you've done this, transfer the diced peel to a bowl. Be sure to discard the peels that don't contain enough zest, since they won't add anything to your recipe.

While it isn't the exact same thing as normal zest, this finely-diced peel is a good substitute if you have no other special tools to help you.

Use A Channel Knife

A channel knife is one of the most common tools for making garnishes, and is great at getting the zest from a lemon.

Channel knives don't have much of a sharp blade, but they do have several parts that make it easy to zest your lemons.

These include a peeling mouth, which is used to remove long, thin strips of the zesty rind, along with an edge lined with small planed holes that are effective at gathering small pieces of zest.

To use a channel knife, the first thing you need to do is decide what type of zest you want.

For example, if you're going to use the zest as an ingredient, you can use the small holes to get finer zest that melts into recipes.

For a garnish, use the peeling out to gather strips of the zest that can be added to drinks and desserts for an extra-fancy twist!

Channel knives are handy tools for multiple purposes and can be the perfect alternative to a zester.

Final Thoughts

Just because you don't have a zester to hand doesn't mean that you can't get zest from your lemon.

There are plenty of ways you can do this, from using the smaller holes on a cheese grater to chopping up parts of the lemon peel yourself to gather the zest.

You don't need any fancy tools to get the zest from a lemon, and with how easy it is to zest a lemon without these special tools it's clear that you don't need to waste your money.

But in case you want to treat yourself, here's a good zester in the link to the right. I bought it for myself when I had to make dozens of lemon meringue mini pies for a wedding! Check it out:

Whichever method of zesting you choose to use, you'll end up with some great zest that is ready to be used as an ingredient or a garnish.

So go out there, zest your lemons, and enjoy the wide array of uses you can get from your zest!