Zest! The brightener of dishes, the flavor enhancer of the Gods, the “secret ingredient” in the best meals you have ever had…
Fresh zest is delicious, however, for most of us it’s not as practical as we would like. Every time I pick up some fresh citrus fruit, I will dehydrate the zest for future use. For this how to I have picked up some Limes on sale. I really only needed the juice for my dish, but that doesn’t mean the zest should go to waste! (or visa versa)
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This method can certainly be applied to any citrus fruit. It’s pretty simple and doesn’t take as long as you would think. You will probably kick yourself over all the zest you have wasted up until now:
Start with fresh fruit. Hopefully you found a great sale, or are lucky enough to have a tree! Be sure to wash the rind to remove any residue or unwanted particles. Using a micro-plane zester or the fine side of a 4 sided cheese grater. The desired zest is only the colored part of the rind. The white pith is very bitter.
Spread the zest onto dehydrator trays. I am using a Nesco dehydrator because this is a small batch. Zest is very small and will get even smaller when dried, so using the solid trays is very important. If your dehydrator has no trays, parchment paper is an excellent substitute. Spread the zest as evenly as possible to speed drying time.
Use as many trays as necessary to ensure the zest is not piled up onto itself.
Turn the dryer to 125 degrees F. Check every hour until the zest is dry and completely moisture free. Two to four hours is the normal amount of time to complete this step.
Store in a labeled airtight container. Use in any recipe that calls for zest, or add to your favorite dishes for a little extra boost.
You can also slice the fruit after zesting and dehydrate the slices. They are great for tea or to flavor water. Alternately you can juice all the fruit and store for another time. A great way to save the juice of the fruit after zesting is to freeze in ice cube trays. Keep in the freezer until needed.
Enjoy!
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