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I've always avoided recipes with calling for zest.
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as I never wanted to take the time to zest everytime I cooked.
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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.
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u can even combine different citric fruits for different flavor combinations.
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first u need to gather the things u need.
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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)
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stand grater so its over the plate.
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place fruit in hand and gently scrape the fruit rind/peel over the smallest side of the grater.
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be sure u only get the colored portion of the rind as the white part tend to be bitter instead of flavorful.
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keep turning the fruit as u go to ensure u get all u can out of it.
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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.
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do not use your finger!
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this is where the toothbrush comes in handy.
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gently pressing scrape off zest from grater onto plate.
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making u sure u scrape both sides to get the maximum out of it.
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tap grater onto plate to get anything else off and set aside.
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now u have a plate covered in zest.
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to dry it is very simple.
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spread it out as much as u can over entire plate.
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and let sit for a day.
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once dry place into airtight container.
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now u have dried zest on hand whenever u need it.
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I do all my fruits in one day.
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fill a small container so when I need it I don't waste valuable cooking time.
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:)
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today I did lime.
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the bigger the fruit the more zest u get.
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once done with your limes.. don't throw them out!
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they still have many uses.. squeeze them and drain of their liquids!
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store in airtight container in fridge.. for the next time u make lime chicken quesadillas!
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(recipe is in my profile)
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also u can make candied lime slices.. recipe is also in my profile.
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:)
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enjoy!
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and have fun and be sure not grate your knuckles!
