How to Garnish with Microplaned Citrus Zest

What You Need

• Large Citrus Microplane
• Recipe and Cocktail Ingredients!

How to Microplane Citrus

Using a microplane is easier than you think. These very sharp blades are akin to cheese graters and they make microplanes in a variety of sizes for an assortment of applications. A large format microplane with larger openings is designed for zesting citrus.

1. Hold the microplane with the "well" or edges facing up. Counter-intuitively, you will want to press your citrus UP from the underside along the blades of the microplane.
2. Drag your citrus across the very sharp blades (with caution!) until bright zest accumulates in the well above. Rotate the fruit to ensure you are getting the exterior zest and not the inner, bitter white pith.
3. When you are ready, flip your microplane upside down and tap to dispense the zest directly into your drink.
4. Alternatively, you can empty into another vessel, and reserve for garnish later. Just like with manicured orange zest, you will want to store your zest in an airtight container until you are ready to use.

Tips for Using a Microplane

• Don't love the chef-style upside down microplane usage? You can flip it the opposite direction to use much as you would a cheese grater. Why the flip in the first place? Using it with the "well" facing up makes it easier to control the amount of zest being dispensed.
• No microplanes on hand? You can try using a cheese grater in a pinch!
• No time to grate anything? You can also peel your lime zest and express the oils over the drink (the old fashioned way) to get a similar brightness and aroma!
• Microplane with caution! Especially with brand new tools, the blades are very very sharp. Be aware of where your fingers are in relation to the blades, and hold the citrus with one hand and stabilize your tool with the other.