What is orange and lemon zest? Did I miss a lesson?
Doug P., Richardson, Texas No Doug, you didn’t miss a lesson. We cooks throw culinary jargon around without always remembering to redefine the terms each time we mention them. Grated zest is simply the grated rind from citrus. It is used in cooking because the rind holds the precious oils where all the flavor resides. To grate zest or rind, take a box grater and rub the fruit against the grater. Don’t rub the fruit down to the white inner skin, known as the pith, because the pith is bitter.
