Want to easily add a bright, sophisticated flavor to your desserts, main meals, appetizers, and breakfasts? Consider cooking with zest, the grated or minced flavorful outer part of the peel of such citrus fruits as lemons, limes, oranges, tangerines, blood oranges, clementines, and grapefruits.

To do this, lightly grate the outer surface of the fruit peel just enough to release all the wonderful flavor of the aromatic oils contained in the top layer of the fruit peel. (Just take care not to grate into the white pith of the fruit itself, which is usually bitter.)

Best of all, cooking with and flavoring your meals with zest is a great way to make the most of the peels left over when you make fresh squeezed juice for such quenching beverages as lemonade, limeade, orange juice, lemon iced tea, or fruit infused flavored water as well as such savory dishes as lemon chicken and orange pork.

(You can find some refreshing and easy to make homemade fruit drink recipe ideas to help you take advantage of the joys of fresh and seasonal fruits here.)

There are many ways to remove the zest from fruit, including using a microplane, zester, a grater, or even a vegetable peeler. If I don’t have a microplane handy, I’ll either use a grater with small holes, or using a vegetable peeler, I’ll remove the zest in strips, then mince or slice it into fine shreds.

Have a large amount of leftover fruit zest that you don’t need to use right away? You can find out how to easily freeze lemon (or any other kind of zest) here.

As you can see below, lemon zest is an extremely popular and versatile ingredient in recipes that benefit from its bright but not overwhelming citrus flavor. However, in many cases, you can substitute (or combine) the zest from such fruits with edible peels as limes, oranges, tangerines, blood oranges, clementines, and grapefruit instead, so feel free to experiment.

Cooking with zest is an easy to learn, yet highly rewarding addition to your collection of culinary skills that can help you take your soups, salads, main dishes, baked goods, desserts, and even beverages to the next level.

Enjoy!

• Pomegranate-Infused Ginger Chicken With Sesame Scallion Dumplings Recipe (Uses Orange Zest)

• Sesame Coconut Cod in Asian Taco Shells Recipe (Uses Lime Zest)

• Sherry-Braised Hollywood Pork Rib Sandwiches With Raisins and Olives Recipe (Uses Orange Zest)

• Cucumber, Apple, & Spinach Salad With Curried Pecans and Lemony Coriander Dressing Recipe (Uses Lemon Zest)

• Lamb and Date Skewers With Lemon Zest Red Lentil Couscous Recipe (Uses Lemon Zest)

• Pork and Shrimp Cabbage Rolls With Butter Poached Shrimp Recipe (Uses Lemon Zest)

• Shrimp, Braised Fennel, & Apricot Medallions With Cilantro Pomegranate Tartar Sauce (Uses Lemon Zest)

• Moroccan Charbroiled Lamb & Fennel Stew with 7 Seed Couscous Recipe (Uses Lemon Zest)

• Firecracker Chutney Recipe (Uses Orange Zest)

• Rosemary and Chile-Grilled Shrimp with Lemon Zest Recipe from Serious Eats

• Roast Pork Loin with Garlic, Rosemary, Anchovies and Lemon Zest Recipe from Dinner Diary

• Rustic Flatbread with Wild Mushrooms, Lemon Zest, Garlic and Mint Recipe from Blue Jean Chef

• Grilling: Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto With Lemon Recipe from Serious Eats

• Slow-Roasted Shoulder of Lamb, Rubbed with Rosemary, Anchovy, and Lemon Zest from Chocolate and Zucchini

• Michael Romano and Danny Meyer’s Hashed Brussels Sprouts With Lemon Zest Recipe from The Wednesday Chef

• Mushroom Risotto With Lemon Zest Recipe from Cookthink

• Sauteed Brussels Sprouts With Onions and Lemon Zest Recipe from Sassy Radish

• Broccoli With Fettuccine, Lemon Zest and Parmesan Recipe from Cookthink

• Pan Seared, Oven Roasted Freshwater Bass With Meyer Lemon Zest and Capers Recipe from Christine Cooks

• Pasta with Basil, Tomatoes and Lemon Zest Recipe from Trini Gourmet

• Lemon Zest and Buttermilk Waffles from Vanielje Kitchen

• Cherry Jam Filled Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe from Lemon Zest

• Meyer Lemon Sorbet Recipe from Simply Recipes

• Buttermilk Cookies with Lemon Zest Recipe from Orangette

• Iced Lemon Corn Muffins Recipe from Pie in the Sky

• Lemon Buttermilk Ice Cream and Candied Lemon Zest Recipe from One Perfect Bite

• Lemon Thyme Creme Brulee Recipe from Chocolate and Zucchini.com

• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Recipe from Simply Recipes

• Lemon Shortbread Recipe from Pinch My Salt

• Fresh Homemade Lemon Curd Recipe from What’s For Lunch, Honey?

• Vegan Blueberry Muffins Using Apple Cider Vinegar from Eggless Cooking

• Kumquat Marmalade Recipe from Life’s Smorgasbord

• Lemon Bars Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

• Seared Tuna with Sesame and Orange Zest Recipe from Fresh Approach Cooking

• Quick and Easy Mandarin Orange Chicken Recipe from Andrea’s Recipes

• Plantain (or Moko) Baked In Orange Juice from Trini Gourmet

• Chorizo Slices With Orange Zest Recipe from BeFOODied

• Homemade Orange and Lemon Zest Citrus Salt from What Did You Eat?

• Candied Orange Zest Recipe from Chop Chop A to Z

• Apple Crisp with Orange Zest Recipe from Once Upon a Plate

• Orange Sour Cream Cake With Orange Icing Recipe from Eating Out Loud

• Iced Orange Cookies Recipe from Recipegirl

• Cranberries with Orange Zest and Port Recipe from Andrea’s Recipes

• Cranberry Jelly with Orange Zest Recipe from For the Love of Cooking

• Raw Beets With Cumin Seeds and Orange Zest Recipe from One For the Table

• Fresh Crab Salad with Lime Zest Recipe from Food and Wine

• Lime Chicken Recipe from Helium

• Lime Cilantro Rice Recipe from Naughty Curry

• Coconut-Lime Thai Snowballs Recipe from Washington Post

• Raspberry-Lime Freeze Recipe from Martha Stewart

• Danish with Lime Curd and Mascarpone Cheese Recipe from The Knead for Bread

• Margarita Cupcakes Recipe from Recipe Girl

• Muffins with Raspberries & Lime Zest Recipe from Homemade Experiences in the Kitchen

• Pan Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Clementine Zest from Big Oven

• Green Beans with Shallots and Clementine Zest Recipe from The Dogs Eat the Crumbs

• Chocolate Clementine Cake with Hot Chocolate Sauce Recipe from MyRecipes.Com

• Clementine and Olive Oil Cake Recipe from Cafe Fernando

• Chocolate Clementine and Ginger Truffles Recipe from Canadian Home and Country

Please join us tomorrow to read our newest daily food feature on HuggingtheCoast.Com: Love Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese? Find Out More About Tillamook’s Mac and Cheese Recipe Contest.

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