I love everything about lemons and think life would be boring and tasteless without them. A lemon’s aroma, flavor, and piquancy add a freshness that’s essential to good food. A lemon’s tartness is the perfect complement to sweetness and richness, and it’s because of this that lemons are especially wonderful in desserts. What’s more, a lemon is two fruits in one: you get both the fragrant flavor of the zest and the spirited zing of the juice.

Zest adds fragrance and packs flavor.For me, much of the joy of a lemon is in the zest, which I think is aptly named for its insistent lemon flavor.

Zest不是整个果皮，而是柠檬的薄，最外，最明亮的黄色层，没有任何下面的白髓。柠檬皮不仅仅是漂亮的包装：带有芳香天然油的芬芳，Zest带来了复杂的花卉和浓郁的味道，以及新鲜度，香气和微妙的。如果您想在任何甜点中增强柠檬味，最常见的是要做的就是添加细碎的柠檬皮，而不是更多的果汁。Zest添加了拉链，但不会影响食谱的甜味或液体固定平衡。每次添加后一次添加一点，并在每次添加后保持品尝，因为太多会赋予苦味。在开玩笑之前，请务必彻底擦洗柠檬，以取下添加的水溶性蜡涂层，以保护它们在运输过程中。

For grating, I always use aMicroplane. Its razor-sharp teeth shave the zest rather than rip or shred it, releasing more essential oils and removing more of the zest than other graters and gadgets. You’ll get at least a tablespoon of fine, feathery zest from each large lemon. A Microplane also seems to solve another problem. Other graters tend to nick at the lemon peel, yielding much less grated zest yet grabbing the pith right along with the zest. The Microplane grabs only the yellow zest—a minor miracle in itself. For more about zesting, see the sidebar below.

Juice gives tang and balance.Lemon juice is wonderfully tangy and refreshing; it’s perfect for balancing flavors in a dessert. There are lots of ways to juice lemons, but the tool I like best is a simple juicer with a ridged cone set in a dish. The reason I love these is because they strain the seeds but include the pulp, which I often add with the juice for added lemony flavor and great texture. Whether I use my electric or manual model depends on my mood—and how much juice I need.

对于最简单的榨汁，请在柜台上几次滚动室温柠檬，然后用手掌施加压力（或将其放入热水中几分钟），然后挤压。新鲜的柠檬汁被冰箱覆盖，保持了三天的良好状态。您甚至可以冻结它；它将保持柠檬zip三个月。

Zesting tips

In addition to using a Microplane, Lori Longbotham offers other ways to get the most out of each lemon you zest.
• If you’ll be using both the juice and the zest of a lemon, grate or peel the zest first.
• When grating lemon zest, you want just the thin yellow top coat of the skin. Overzealous grating will result in bitter flavors.
•柠檬的挥发性油在包裹后最强，因此在使用前卸下皮革。
• Grate lemon zest over waxed paper to make it easier to gather for measuring.
• Finely grated zest releases more flavor than larger strips.
• If you have more lemons on hand than you can use, grate or peel the zest, juice the lemons, and then freeze the zest and juice separately. Well wrapped, they’ll keep for up to three months.