How can you tell when you're done zesting citrus?

CooCooPuff

Pardon my ignorance. It was only a few years ago that I actually did anything past pushing the buttons on a microwave.
I bought a cheap citrus zester after being tired of skipping over recipes that called for lemon or orange zest. I'm just curious- how far should I go to get that zest of one lemon so many recipes call for? Would that just be peeling the yellow?

Also, we have some unknown to me variety of oranges growing in the backyard. They're a real pain to peel, but the fruit itself is tasty. Would they be good to use? http://m.imgur.com/M2UOJJV

lynn_glenmont

Ideally, you would only be getting the yellow (or orange, in the case of oranges) part of the skin. You really don't to get any of the white, so you're aiming for very thin scrapings. The pith (the white part) tends to be bitter.

777Gemma888

@fruit ... Could be Bergamot Oranges ... Do you have a sliced fruit pic?

Chef_Barbell

Yes only zest the color part of the peel. The white part is very bitter.

not_my_first_rodeo

Yes, only zest the colored part. As for peeling these gadgets are very handy: https://www.amazon.com/Round-Orange-Citrus-Fruit-Peelers/dp/B005UUVTVY

HeidiCooksSupper

A microplane makes zesting very easy. But, yes, what folks said above -- avoid the white "pith" as that is the bitter part.

A microplane also grates parmesan into billowy clouds of grated cheese making a little go a long way.

http://us.microplane.com/microplaneclassicserieszestergrater.aspx

catbeck20123

The white is bitter the more yellow the better it will taste