HOW TO ZEST AN ORANGE? Back To Basics

Orange peel is the top layer of the fruit, which contains a lot of essential oils. No chemical flavor can compare with the aroma of the zest of fresh orange. It is better to take fresh and elastic oranges, with a peel without black dots and other signs of illness.

Removed orange peel does not taste bitter, be careful: remove only the top colored layer of the peel and do not touch the white layer. We can remove the zest from the oranges using a grater with large or small holes or a knife.

What is a zest?

Orange peel is an orange citrus peel that has a rich aroma. It has pores containing essential oils that provide citrus with a smell. Orange peel has a bittersweet taste. For the first time, the orange peel was used for food in France.

Nutrients and Chemical composition of Zest

The caloric content of orange peel is 97 kcal.

Energy value per 100 g of the product:

  • 5 g of proteins
  • 2 g of fat
  • 4 g of carbohydrates

Nutritional value per 100 g of the product:

  • 024 g of saturated fatty
  • acids up to 72.5 g
  • 8 g of gold
  • up to 40.6 g of dietary fiber

Vitamins:

  • 9 mg niacin equivalent
  • 25 mg of tocopherol
  • 136 mg of ascorbic acid
  • 30 mcg of folic acid
  • 17 6 mg of pyridoxine
  • 49 mg of pantothenic acid
  • 09 mg of riboflavin
  • 12 mg of thiamine
  • 21 mcg of retinol equivalent

Minerals:

  • 1 mcg of selenium
  • 92 mg of copper
  • 25 mg of zinc
  • 8 mg of iron
  • 21 mg of phosphorus
  • 212 mg of potassium
  • 3 mg of sodium
  • 22 mg of magnesium
  • 161 mg of calcium

Here Come Healthy benefits

Useful properties of orange peel are related to its rich chemical composition:

  1. pectin enables you to organize the work of the gastrointestinal tract
  2. phytoncides are natural antibiotics
  3. hesperidin is a lipid absorbent substance, leading to an accelerated fat loss process and allows you to adjust the weight
  4. ascorbic acid in large amounts helps to prevent the risk of development of arthritis and osteoarthritis, provides the body with calcium, and strengthens the skeletal system
  5. antioxidants prevent the emergence of cancer cells
  6. essential oils have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties

Dried citrus peel is good for regular use. It provides a normal sugar level for the body and has a mild choleretic effect. It facilitates the work of the liver due to cleansing properties. The dry peel of orange also regulates the water-salt balance, preventing puffiness.

Understand the Allergies: Actions and Reactions

Citrus peel can be harmful to health, especially in case of an allergic reaction to oranges. The product is prohibited for people with a history of intestinal disorders, stomach ulcers, or gastritis.

Although orange is saturated with useful substances, it has certain contraindications. People with the following diseases cannot eat orange zest:

  • stomach ulcer
  • problems of the digestive system
  • the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus or increased glucose in the blood

Dentists from all over the world have repeatedly argued that excessive consumption of oranges can thoroughly damage the enamel of teeth. Specialists advise you to rinse your mouth thoroughly after each use of citrus and its crusts. Also, do not forget about an allergic reaction to an orange, which can be caused by the frequent consumption of fruit in food, especially for overweight people.

How to choose orange for zesting?

The most useful fruits are sweet. There are certain criteria and tips that you need to know. The orange season begins from the end of November and lasts until the end of March. There is a chance to stumble upon chemicals that are harmful to health when you buy them in the off-season months. Most often, citrus fruit comes to us from Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, and Peru.

Recommendations for choosing:

  1. Try the fruit to the touch. Softness means that it has begun to deteriorate inside. A very hard orange is also not suitable, it will be sour with a slight bitterness.
  2. Always estimate the weight on your hand, if the fruits are too light – you should not take them, they have already begun to shrink from the inside.
  3. Ripe fruit always has a characteristic pleasant smell, so before buying, do not be too lazy to sniff the fruit.
  4. The standard color of the orange peel should be either bright orange or orange-yellow (a strong orange color with characteristic yellow spots indicates that the orange was picked in an immature state and pricked with chemicals).
  5. Do not buy fruits that have stickers on them.
  6. Thick-rooted fruits are more protected from chemical treatment. If the zest is too thick and bumpy, it is better not to buy such a fruit.
  7. The sweetest and most delicious oranges are those that have a so-called “navel” (in place of its ovary).
  8. Some argue that the larger the fruit, the better it is in quality. This opinion is erroneous. This fruit has high water content and a small percentage of beneficial substances.

Application in cooking

In the culinary business, orange peel is a spice that gives desserts and pastries an original taste. We can also use it in the preparation of meat, chicken, fish dishes, and the production of alcoholic beverages. Also, confections and jams are cooked from it. Orange peel is added as one of the additional ingredients when brewing tea and coffee, giving the drinks a subtle aroma and enhancing their tonic properties.

How to zest an orange?

Orange peel gives dishes a citrus aroma and a sour taste. You can zest it in 3 different ways.

Equipment:

  • Microplane
  • Box Grater
  • Vegetable Peeler

You can zest the orange peel in any way that will be more convenient for you. The best device for cleaning citrus fruits is a Microplane! With this kitchen appliance, you can easily peel an orange. The core of the peel gives a bitter taste, and this device helps to remove a thin layer. But in addition to the Microplane, there are two more convenient ways.

Always wash the fruit before using it, even if you do not use the peel. Rinse the fruit under cool water, it will help to remove harmful chemicals. It is impossible to know exactly how the product was transported and where it was lying before it got to your table.

  1. The best way to peel an orange is to use a Microplane. A kitchen device will help to remove a thin layer of zest without touching the core. It’s easy to peel an orange – you need to hold the handle of the microplate firmly and move the fruit up and down.
  2. The next method is to use a box grater. Box graters are great for orange zest. They usually have 4 sides, you need a side with smaller holes. It is necessary to slide the orange down the grater with slight pressure and turn the orange.
  3. The last way is to use a vegetable peeler. With this kitchen appliance, it is difficult not to touch the core of an orange, but you can try. First, you need to carefully cut off the orange part of the peel, without touching the orange in the same place.

Fruit Preparation

You should wash the fruit first. It is especially important if you want to use the removed zest in the future for cooking. Rub the crust vigorously with a clean sponge or cloth soaked in hot water with soap added. You can pour boiling water over the surface. Let’s consider next how to remove the zest from orange without a white layer. This can be done in several ways, using different devices.

How to remove the zest from an orange with a grater?

To do this, you need to prepare a device with small holes. It is placed on a cutting board so that the perforated part is outside. Do not forget to hold the handle of the grater so that it does not travel along the base. Next, we perform the following actions:

  1. Start rubbing only the orange layer of the peel, without touching the white pulp. You need to be extremely careful at this moment. Movements should be made in the only direction – from top to bottom.
  2. Turn the fruit slightly and then do the same manipulations. As soon as the white pulp visually appears, then unfold the orange again with the untouched side.

It is better not to touch the zest from the lower and upper parts of the fruit, even if there is an orange layer left there.

How to use a vegetable peeler?

Before removing the zest from the orange, wash the surface of the fruit well. Next, perform the following actions:

  1. Carefully and slowly swipe the vegetable pairing device along the surface of the fruit with a downward movement. Try not to touch the white pulp under the peel.
  2. Then the orange strips of the peel need to be crushed as much as possible, and then you will get an orange peel.

You can make a flavor addition for a cocktail from the zest with the help of a vegetable cutter. To do this, remove the wide and short strip of peel as described earlier. Place it close to the surface of the liquid and twist it with two fingers, thumb and index finger, so that the orange oil is released. You can also rub the peel on the edge of the glass to make the cocktail seem more saturated with a fruity aroma.

But if the white pulp gets into the drink, the bitterness will immediately become very noticeable in it. Therefore, if the light part remains on the orange strip, you can try to carefully remove it with a knife. So, we have considered how to remove the zest from an orange with a grater and a vegetable cutter. We offer several recommendations on how to get a high-quality product.

How to remove the zest quickly?

In winter, citrus fruits are in great demand. Tangerines have long been a symbol of the New Year’s holidays. And lemons are often added to tea at the slightest signs of a cold. In addition, these fruits contain a lot of vitamin C, which helps to support the immune system. Citrus peel is very popular in cooking. But not everyone knows how to properly remove the zest.

You can classically remove the zest – with a kitchen knife. Make sure that the knife is sharp, otherwise, you will have to suffer. The second common method is to use a grater. The fastest option is a vegetable peeler. You can remove the zest from a whole lemon or orange in a matter of seconds.

Cleaning rules

  1. Before removing the zest from citrus fruits, it is necessary to wash the fruit and pour boiling water over it.
  2. It is necessary to remove only the thin yellow top layer of the fruit. If a white layer gets into the zest ( which is located under the yellow one), it will give the zest bitterness.
  3. It is best to remove the zest on the smallest grater (with protruding points).
  4. To avoid clogging the grater, it is necessary to prick parchment paper on the protruding points of a fine grater.

Related Tips

To get a high-quality product at the output and easily remove the zest from the orange, it is worth considering the following:

  1. To prepare orange zest without extraneous taste, try to choose organic fruits that have not been treated with chemicals.
  2. It is advisable to select fruits with a thick and dense peel.
  3. If you cool the fruit before removing the zest from an orange, it will be easier to remove it. In addition, less juice will be lost during cleaning.
  4. The dish to which you are going to add this ingredient will get the maximum orange flavor if you use only the smallest zest because it has a larger surface from which the orange oil comes out.
  5. Try to use a fresh product immediately after it is received, the fruity aroma weakens over time.
  6. It is better to keep oranges in the freezer. Then you can remove the top layer from the frozen fruits. Manipulation can be carried out much easier than at the temperature of the room.

Closing

Orange zest is the peel of the fruit without the white soft part, which is located directly behind the orange layer. Orange zest has a subtle taste, a rich aroma, and a rich chemical composition, thanks to which it has found wide application in cooking, folk medicine, and cosmetology. It is easy to make the product at home. In acceptable norms, orange peel is useful for health.