Southern Style Cooking: How to Zest a Lemon (the Right Way) and Other Citrus Things

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

How to Zest a Lemon (the Right Way) and Other Citrus Things

Salt, fat, and acid are key components in cooking. The most memorable bites happen when they are in perfect harmony. One of the most common mistakes novice cooks make (besides under-salting their food) is relying too heavily on salt to enhance flavor, when often what a dish needs is the simple addition of some acid. It's that squeeze of lime in your guacamole that makes it dance on your palate, cutting through the fat of the avocado. Salt alone can't do that.

Acid in savory cooking can come in the form of a splash of vinegar or from citrus fruit. Because winter is the prime citrus season, I've been relying on the bounty of lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits in my kitchen.

Each citrus fruit contains two key parts that can lend flavor to your food: the zest and the juice.

The Zest
The zest of a citrus fruit is the outer rind, minus the bitter pith (the white part under the colorful exterior of your lime, lemon, or orange). The zest contains concentrated essential oils that offer a deeper, fuller citrus flavor. While commonly used in baking, citrus zest is also a fantastic way to finish a savory dish. Passing a lemon over my microplane to create feathery zest to finish off a simple pantry pasta is a near weekly occurrence in my home.

The Juice
The juice of citrus both offers a mouth-puckering quality and serves to tenderize raw proteins like chicken or fish when used as a quick marinade before cooking. So grab a hand held citrus juicer (or cut your orange in half and use the tines of a fork to help facilitate maximum juicing) and whip up this bitter orange marinade for chicken or a chili lime sauce that can double as marinade and dip. These Vietnamese fried chicken wings are a great step-by-step way to get you started cooking with citrus as is this lemony rice, the ultimate comfort food. The quick squeeze of citrus also makes a great addition to soups, especially ones that are laced with rich coconut cream, like this Thai chicken noodle soup.