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Culinary Arts & Cooking vocabulary · Ingredients, Stocks & Sauces

Zest

Meaning in culinary arts & cooking, with examples

/zest/nounCommon term

In culinary arts & cooking, zest means: The thin, coloured outer layer of the skin of citrus fruit, full of aromatic oils, grated or cut off to add flavour. As a verb, to zest means to remove it.

In Turkish: kabuk rendesi, limon kabuğu rendesi

How it is used

Used in pastry, dressings, marinades and garnishes. Cooks use a microplane or a zester and avoid the white pith underneath, which is bitter. Recipes often say the zest and juice of one lemon.

Example sentences

  1. Finish the fish with a little lemon zest and olive oil.

  2. Only take the zest; the white part underneath is bitter.

Common collocations

  • lemon zest
  • orange zest
  • zest and juice
  • finely grated zest
  • peelTo remove the skin of a fruit or vegetable. As a noun, peel is the skin of fruits such as oranges, lemons and potatoes.
  • garnishA small item of food, such as herbs, a slice of lemon or a sauce dot, added to a dish to make it look and taste better. As a verb, to garnish means to add this.
  • marinadeA seasoned liquid or paste, often with oil, acid such as lemon or yoghurt, herbs and spices, in which meat, fish or vegetables are soaked before cooking.
  • paring knifeA small knife with a short blade, usually 7–10 cm long, used for peeling, trimming and detailed work on fruit and vegetables.

More terms: Ingredients, Stocks & Sauces

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