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Learn all about how to zest a lemon or any citrus (limes and oranges too)! This easy technique is something you can do to add tons of flavor to any recipe, whether it’s a lemon recipe or not.

Close up shot of lemon zest on a white cutting board

What is Lemon Zest?

Lemon zest is the yellow outer layer of the fruit. Similarly, lime zest is the green and orange zest is the orange outer layer.

Zest is where a ton of citrus flavor lives. In fact, recipes where you add zest will have more of the fruit flavor than if you just add juice. Many dishes for baking or cooking will call for zest.

Lemon Zest is just the yellow layer, while the Lemon Peel is the yellow layer plus the white layer underneath. The white layer is called the pith, and it’s a bitter and not-to-tasty part of the fruit.

Most Importantly…

ONLY take off the colorful part (bright yellow, green, orange). Once you see the white part, stop. Don’t zest the pith because it’s bitter and you don’t want it in your recipe.

box grater, grater, and microplane with lemons

Tools for Zesting

Microplane – a microplane is the easiest and best way to zest. It’s a long skinny grater tool made for zesting. It’s easy to grip and easy to clean the zest off the other side. (Get one at Walmart or Target)
Box Grater – a regular box grater usually has 4 sizes of holes, one on each side. The smallest side of the cheese grater can be used to zest. The only problem with this is it’s hard to clean off and get all the zest into your recipe.
Citrus Zester – This is often sold with the bar accessories – you can use it to create long strips of lemon peel for garnishing drinks. Just chop the long peel into small pieces of zest.
Vegetable Peeler – if you don’t have either of those, use a vegetable peeler to peel off just the yellow part of the lemon. This is also good if you want lemon as garnish, or for cocktails. Need it smaller? Mince it once you have it peeled.
A Knife – a small pairing knife is another good way to get the peel off, similar to using the vegetable peeler. Mince it to use it as zest.

Overhead shot of lemon being zested over a cutting board

Zest with a Microplane Grater

Wash your fruit.
Position your microplane or grater over a plate or cutting board.
Run the lemon up and down over the surface, scraping off the yellow skin.
Be sure to flip the microplane over and clean out the zest on the back side.

How to Zest without a Microplane

To use a Cheese Grater: Run the lemon up and down the smallest holes of the grater, being careful not to grate the pith.

To use a Vegetable Peeler: hold the lemon firmly and press the peeler into the surface, peeling off only the yellow skin. Dice the strips to use as zest, or use them for cocktails or to flavor sugar or oil.

To use a Paring Knife: hold the lemon firmly on a cutting board and use your knife to carefully cut away thin strips of the yellow part of the fruit. Dice the strips to use as zest, or use them for cocktails or to flavor sugar or oil. If you end up with wide strips, just slice them thin before dicing.

Storage & Tips

Lemon zest doesn’t last very long at room temperature (it will dry out). You can put zest in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for several months.
Freeze lemon zest in an airtight container for several months.
Make lemon ice cubes by filling ice cube trays with water and zest!
It’s important to remember to zest your lemon before you juice it. It’s much easier to zest first and juice last.
One medium lemon has about 1 tablespoon lemon zest (depending on the size of the lemon).