Dried Zest.. Lime, Lemon, Orange, Tangerine, Grapefruit, etc.
- 1 any citrus fruit with a rind, see directions
- I've always avoided recipes with calling for zest.
- as I never wanted to take the time to zest everytime I cooked.
- for several reasons.. 1. wasn't sure what it was.. and 2. once I found out I thought it to be to much work for everytime I wanted to bake something.. but if u have a nice bowl of it on hand.. it makes it so much easier.
- u can even combine different citric fruits for different flavor combinations.
- first u need to gather the things u need.
- u need.. a large plate, a grater (or zester if u have one)(I don't and have always used the smallest part of the grater) fruit of choice, lime, lemon, orange, tangerine, grapefruit, a clean new unused toothbrush(soft bristles)
- stand grater so its over the plate.
- place fruit in hand and gently scrape the fruit rind/peel over the smallest side of the grater.
- be sure u only get the colored portion of the rind as the white part tend to be bitter instead of flavorful.
- keep turning the fruit as u go to ensure u get all u can out of it.
- once the lime is pretty much bare, u have a littlee bit of zest on the plate and a lot still stuck on your grater.
- do not use your finger!
- this is where the toothbrush comes in handy.
- gently pressing scrape off zest from grater onto plate.
- making u sure u scrape both sides to get the maximum out of it.
- tap grater onto plate to get anything else off and set aside.
- now u have a plate covered in zest.
- to dry it is very simple.
- spread it out as much as u can over entire plate.
- and let sit for a day.
- once dry place into airtight container.
- now u have dried zest on hand whenever u need it.
- I do all my fruits in one day.
- fill a small container so when I need it I don't waste valuable cooking time.
- :)
- today I did lime.
- the bigger the fruit the more zest u get.
- once done with your limes.. don't throw them out!
- they still have many uses.. squeeze them and drain of their liquids!
- store in airtight container in fridge.. for the next time u make lime chicken quesadillas!
- (recipe is in my profile)
- also u can make candied lime slices.. recipe is also in my profile.
- :)
- enjoy!
- and have fun and be sure not grate your knuckles!
directions
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/342104-dried-zest-lime-lemon-orange-tangerine-grapefruit-etc (may not work)