How to handle recipes calling for lemon zest?

last year

I was making a cake yesterday that called for 1 tbsp. of lemon zest. I had only two lemons on hand and assumed that'd be enough. Well, it wasn't. I probably needed at least another lemon's worth of zest. Although I used some of the lemon juice in the cake and the glaze, I was left with one naked lemon to store. If I had used another lemon to achieve the full complement of zest called for in the recipe, I would have ended up with two naked lemons in the fridge.

What do you do when making a recipe that calls for lemon zest? Is there something else you add to up the lemon flavor when you don't have enough zest? Like extract, oil, or the lemon paste that KAF sells? I'm not really crazy about dried lemon peel that is sold with spices. I've frozen lemon zest before, but it dried to almost nothingness in the freezer. Any ideas?

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Comments (15)

chloebud
last year
last modified: last year
How much zest did you actually get? Obviously the size matters, but a medium size lemon should give you close to a tablespoon, but a little less should still be fine. What type of zester did you use? We have a lemon tree so I never need to freeze the juice or zest. The zest should freeze nicely if tightly wrapped, but it’s always best and more potent straight from the lemon. If needed, zested lemons can be wrapped in plastic to hold in the fridge for a couple days.

Just wanted to say these are two great little books if you’re a lemon lover like me.
lisaam
last year
If i have an extra naked lemon i try to use the juice in vinaigrette or similar before the fruit goes by. You could be proctive and freeze the juice immediately.

It does seem like 1 typical lemon (fresh and firm) should have yielded the required 1 tb zest. Tired lemons are more difficult to zest as they start to get soft.
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foodonastump
last year
I'd welcome the excuse to make avgolemono soup. or chicken francaise.
fawnridge (Ricky)
last year
One of our most popular cookies is the Lemon Drop. If the lemons we buy are as large as my fist, then we only buy one. But any smaller and we get two. I don't measure the amount of lemon zest that we actually use, but it's at least a tablespoon and we use the juice as well. This is to bake 4 dozen cookies. It's been our experience that you need a lot more lemon than you think to really get that lemony punch.
colleenoz
last year
Rather than store a naked lemon, I juice it and freeze the juice for a time when I need juice and not zest.
Judi
last year
I agree that the zest from 2 lemons should have been enough, even if they were small.

When I had a Meyer lemon tree I tried freezing the zest as well as the juice. The zest was a disappointment and I had way more frozen juice than I ever used. I much prefer fresh.
CA Kate z9
last year
I always zest a lemon or orange before squeezing. I make little bags of the zest with my FoodSaver and never have a problem. It always comes out like new.

The amount of zest you get from a lemon depends on how big the lemon is. And, I agree that you should juice the lemon and freze the juice.
Susan Tweeton
Original Author
last year
I guess the lemons I got from the store would be considered super small. I got a little less than two teaspoons.
chloebud
last year
Susan, that sounds right if they were pretty small. You‘d likely get at least another tsp. of zest from a medium size lemon. I needed a tablespoon of zest the other day for a shrimp dish. I got a generous tablespoon from what I’d call the medium or ”regular” size lemon I grabbed. Juice is normally 2-3 tablespoons. I’ve found the amount of zest can be more predictable, at least with our lemons.
Lynda (Zn9b/23 - Central CA Coast)
last year
I zest all my lemons before I use them, then dehydrate the zest. Fresh is always best, but dehydrated zest is the next best thing.
Lars
last year
I made avgolemono soup a couple of days ago because I have a lot of lemons at the moment, but I also made hummus and added extra lemon juice to that.

In L.A. I have a Meyer lemon tree and a Eureka lemon tree (not to mention a Yuzu tree - only somewhat similar), and in Cathedral City, my neighbor has a huge lemon tree that extends over the wall into my patio, and it makes very large lemons. A lot of them fall into my pool equipment area.
Judi
last year
I use lots of lemon zest during my tomato harvest when I make uncooked sauces. No lemon juice added, just olive oil.
shambo
last year
last modified: last year
I'm the original author, but for some reason my actual name showed up instead of the user name I've had for over a decade.

I guess I don't use lemons in my cooking as much as some of you do. And when I do, I don't use the zest. I only rarely make a lemon cake or loaf that would require zest along with the juice. But my recent experience makes me want to look for larger lemons when I'm shopping for them. I haven't made avgolemeno soup or sauce for a long time, and they sound pretty good. I especially like the sauce with cooked vegetables.

Thanks for your help.

P.S. Because of the mix up with my user name, I am not able to thank you individually for your comments. Please be assured that I'm not ignoring you.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
last year
That's odd, shambo - here I was thinking Susan must be a newbie to the forum 😄

FWIW, one thing I've realized is that this forum sometimes comes up under the houzz URL, rather than gardenweb's. I wonder if that' might be a factor?
shambo
last year
Yes, it was weird. I didn't notice the difference until after I posted my question. And, by the, it was too late for me to do anything about it.

How to handle recipes calling for lemon zest?

Comments (15)

chloebud

lisaam

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How to handle recipes calling for lemon zest?

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