Lemon Juice and Zest

The invention of the microplane, has improved anyone's ability to flavor food.  Previously, only the most skilled of cooks could remove the zest from citrus and chop it finely enough to be used in the way we now take for granted.

In my opinion, the zest grated with a microplane is just as useful as the juice of a citrus fruit.  In fact, if I am out of lemon juice, I throw in a few pinches of frozen zest, and the substitution works well, sometimes even better than using juice.

Microplanes come in various sizes for various purposes.  With the right choice, ginger, garlic, hard cheeses, coconut, and onion can be finely grated with this amazing tool.

This is the protective cover of my Microplane.  Sturdily build, I have used it for about eight years.

For grating zest, you will need the finest, or smallest microplane grater.

I find it easier to run the zester upside down on top of the fruit.  Usually I am holding the fruit in my hand, but the photo was awkward to take, so just imagine I am holding the lemon and grating.  Just remember to hold the fruit in your hand, and use the zester upside down.

When you purchase a large bag of lemons or limes from a warehouse, resolve to prepare the whole bag within a day or two.  Zesting the warehouse-sized bag of lemons will yield two cups.  Place them in half pint jars, and freeze.  Frozen zest is fluffy, easy to remove from the jar a pinch or more at a time.  Now,  tackle the task of juicing the lemons  If you've run out of time after preparing the zest, refrigerate the skinned lemons overnight and juice them the next day.

Use any type of juicer, hand or electric.  This little Sunbeam juicer cost me just under $10, twenty years ago.  Definitely worth the money.  I think there is less waste if a juicer is used rather than squeezing by hand like the TV cooks like to do.  It looks showy to do it that way, but it is wasteful.

Stack the empty rinds for a quick trip to throw them out.

A warehouse-sized bag of lemons will yield approximately 3 and a half cups of juice. 

I used the blender jar, just to measure.  I often use my blender jar for quick measurements because it is nearby.  I'll talk about the amazing Blendtec in future posts.

Freeze the juice in ice cube trays, then transfer to ziploc bags for storage. 

Be sure and measure your ice cube tray so that you know how much juice is in each cube.  To test capacity, fill one compartment with water a tablespoon at a time until it is full.  My ice cube trays hold 2 tablespoons.  Remembering that 4 tablespoons is a quarter of a cup, it is quick to calculate how many lemon juice cubes you will need in a recipe.

By zesting and juicing an entire bag of lemons, you save both time and money.  With the zest and juice safely stored in the freezer, you have not let any lemons go bad.  As you are cooking you will love having those frozen cubes of flavorful juice, ready for use.