What Is Orange zest and How Can I Use It?

Orange zest rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 1,184 recipes to cook with it.

What is orange zest?

Orange zest is the thin, colored outer layer of an orange's peel, and it holds the fruit's most concentrated flavor. Those tiny oil glands in the skin carry the perfume you smell when you scratch an orange, far more aromatic than the juice.

Because it is flavor without liquid, zest seasons a dish the way a spice does. A little adds depth to cakes and marinades without thinning the batter or watering down the pan.

The rule that matters most: stop at the orange layer and never dig into the bitter white pith below it.

Cooking and Baking With Zest

Grate it fine with a rasp for baking, where you want the oils to disappear into the crumb. It perfumes rich breads like Panettone, the Italian fruitcake. The same fine zest shows up in Orange Zest French Toast and Cranberry, Orange & Nut Cookies.

In savory cooking, zest cuts through fat and richness. It lifts Balsamic Glazed Salmon and brings a bright top note to Orange & Miso Roasted Tofu & Asparagus, where it plays against salty miso.

Marmalade depends on it entirely. Orange Lemon Marmalade uses the sliced peel both for flavor and for the pectin in the pith that helps it set.

For a garnish or a cocktail, cut a wide strip with a peeler and twist it over the drink to spray the oils across the surface. That spritz is the aroma, not the strip itself.

A trick worth knowing: rub sugar with the zest, or warm zest gently in the fat, and the oils spread further through the whole dish.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Orange zest leans sweet and warm. It loves chocolate, almond, vanilla, and cranberry on the dessert side, and fennel, olives, beets, and rich meats on the savory side. A pinch wakes up anything that tastes a little flat.

The big mistake is grating into the pith. Once your grater pulls up white, you are adding bitterness instead of perfume, so rotate the fruit and take only the colored skin.

The second mistake is adding delicate zest too early in a long simmer, which cooks off the volatile oils. For the freshest hit, stir most of it in near the end.

Dried zest is the exception, since it is built to hold up to cooking.

Substitutes

Lemon or lime zest is the closest swap, sharper and less sweet, so use a little less or add a pinch of sugar. The citrus oil character is similar even if the fruit is not.

Dried orange peel works in cooked dishes; use about one third the amount of fresh, since drying concentrates it. A few drops of pure orange extract or orange oil can stand in for baking, though they lack the texture of real zest.

In a real pinch, a spoonful of marmalade brings orange flavor plus its own sugar, so cut back the sweetener elsewhere.

Buying and Storing Zest

Zest is always best fresh off the fruit, so buy whole oranges rather than jarred peel when you can. Choose firm, fragrant oranges with smooth, unblemished skin. Scrub them well, since the peel is what you are eating.

Organic or unwaxed fruit is worth seeking out for zesting, because wax and spray residue concentrate on the skin. A quick scrub under warm water helps either way.

Zest first, juice second, always while the orange is still whole; it is nearly impossible to zest a squeezed half. Extra zest freezes well in a small bag for months, and it dries easily if you spread it on a plate for a day or two.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find orange zest: Orange zest is usually found in the produce section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Orange zest is a member of the Fruits and Fruit Juices US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

橙皮

British (UK) term

orange rind

en français

le zeste d'orange

en español

cáscara de naranja

How much does orange zest weigh?

Related

Fruits and Fruit Juices

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