You then mince the curls of zest with a sharp knife.
Wow, a $10 tool is all that’s between you and poverty? Lemons and chocolate ar luxury foods? Sorry, devilsknew, I didn’t realize you lived on the brink of despair, where a 39 cent lemon is only affordable on special occasions. You’re right, in your financial bracket, you can easily get along with a knife and a 40 year old grater.
For those of us livin’ the high life, I highly recommend taking a break from running around in your Porche and bathing in caviar to buy a Microplane. Chances are, it’ll be something you use a lot.
Yeah, the Microplane gives you a finer zest. I have a zester as well - it gives thicker pieces, more toothy. Better for making candied lemon peel. Overall, I prefer the microplane.
Yea, pretty fuckin’ self centered and provincial if you consider your only audience a bunch of asshole all American yuppies.
This is the best cooking suggestion I have seen in ages.
Thanks!
Oh and, I personally find a microplan to be superior in almost every way to a normal zester.
You think the choice between lemons and a microplane is somehow trivial? You think it is an unembarrassing choice? For the majority, a microplane is about as unecessary as a third nut.
Well, when you are in the top 10 percent you actually have a choice. Lotsa people don’t.
I’ve used a little cheap ass knife with a plastic handle and flexible blade when I needed zest. It’s been infrequent and I only cook for two, else I might invest in one of the above tools.
Moderator interjection: devilsknew, personal insults are NOT permitted in this forum. It is possible to disagree on cooking processes or equipment without insulting each other. You will kindly refrain from such in future.
I realize that there was some provocation, but that’s an explanation, not an excuse.
Athena, making sarcastic comments about a person’s life style or economic situation is, in my book, also unnecessary and inappropriate for polite discussion. Again, it is possible to make your point and to disagree without the need for bringing in personal insults.
Assuming this isn’t a gigantic whoosh, yes, I’m sure you’re right that all someone needs is a knife, fork and spoon. The fact that someone chooses to spend a little extra discretionary money on an extra gadget doesn’t make them a yuppie, a sheeple, or part of the top 10 percent. You’ve just got to be kidding.
I wonder if I could multi-task and use my personal paper shredder for zesting my lemons?
The senseless ranting aside by our unmedicated friend, the Microplane is a terrific tool, particularly if you’re someone who makes Christmas cookies for lots o’ friends and has osteo-arthritis in both thumbs. While a knife would work, I prefer to get the product done in one day without having to deal with severe arthritis flare-ups. I could also use a rock to pound nails, but prefer the luxury of a hammer.
Hell, who needs a rock? I just drive nails with my mighty penis.
You probably don’t want to know how I zest lemons.
May I just add that investing a little extra money in a Microplane was such a life-changing moment for me that I recommend it to everyone I meet? The difference in the ease of zesting, and the quality of the zest, was one of those epiphany moments. Good tools not only make your work easier and faster, they make it enjoyable. Now I don’t avoid zesting…I get carried away by it! I’m still planning on making that limoncello. I wouldn’t dream of doing it with a mere knife. All lemons get zested, and the zest frozen…no more wasted peels. And the zester makes the most wonderful drifts of grated cheddar that melt so much more easily into sauces. When I think of the money I’ve wasted over the years on different graters and zesters, I cry. A set of Microplanes should be everyone’s wedding gift from me from now on, with a little card attached that says, “You’ll thank me for this every time you use it, trust me.”
You can build a house with just an axe. You can write a book with just a pencil. You can knit using twigs, and you can zest a lemon with a knife. But when you find a great tool that is relatively inexpensive, will last a lifetime and can be used almost daily in some form, it’s not foolish to buy one.
I suspect we can all guess how you juice them, though.
You screw with it too, don’t you?
With your third nut? 