How To Carve Lemons & Limes | The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures - The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures How To Carve Lemons & Limes | The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures
 
 
 
 
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FOOD FUN: Beyond The Twist, Lemon & Lime Flowers & Art

No doubt you’ve cut lemon and lime circles and twists for garnish, and wedges to squeeze over beverages, salads, seafoods, and so on.

We have long used a channel zester to carve vertical lines in fruits and vegetables, creating a design in the fruit and strips of peel for garnish.
 
 
THE GROOVY JOYS OF CHANNEL ZESTING

James Beard said: “Two of of my best friends are a stripper and a zester.”

When you use it to cut channels (grooves) into, you can create edible art—not to mention ingredients for recipes and garnishing.

  • If you want very fine pieces for garnish or grated peel for a recipe, run the row of sharp holes over the item.
  • The channel knife (the little blade in the larger opening) lets you create peel garnishes with little effort.
  • Someone with dexterity can carve the entire peel in one continuous strip, to decorate a punch bowl or a platter.
  • If you’re serving a grapefruit half and enjoy carving (we find it very therapeutic), carve horizontal grooves. You can do this the day before, and halve the grapefruit before serving.
  • Whatever you carve, save any leftover peel for garnish, salads, tea, etc.
  • When zesting citrus, avoid the bitter white pith under the peel.
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    CITRUS TRIVIA

    Zest is the colored, outermost skin layer of citrus fruits; its volatile (essential) oils make it highly perfumed.

    Zest is rich in antioxidants: flavonoids, bioflavonoids and limonoids. It is used to flavor sweet and savory dishes; it can be candied for pastry use or as a sweetmeat (e.g., candied grapefruit peel).

  • Citrus fruits are native to Southeast Asia where they have been cultivated for over 4,000 years.
  • In the U.S., Florida has the most acres of citrus trees (654,747). California is second with 303,101 acres.
  • Per capita consumption of citrus fruits in the U.S. was 21.7 pounds in 2005, down from 23.5 pounds in 2000.
  • Oranges and grapefruits do not ripen after they are picked, but lemons and limes do.
  • Citrus pith is the major source for commercial pectin manufacture, used to thicken jelly and other foods.
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    Chanel Zester
    [1] Grooves cut with a channel zester.

    Carved Lemon Flower Slices
    [2] When sliced, the groves create flower-like slices (photos #1 and #2 courtesy IdTryThat | WordPress).

    Carved Lime
    [3] Elaborate channeling creates beautiful food art (photo courtesy The Eddy | NYC).

     
     
    STOCKING STUFFER IDEA

    Give a channel groover to an arty cook. You can get it in any kitchen gadget department or online.

      

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