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Adding citrus juice, flesh, and zest to a recipe can really punch up the flavor. I use citrus all the time, especially in baking. Have you ever wondered how to segment and orange, zest a lemon with a microplane, or juice citrus with a reamer? Here’s a step-by-step photo guide to all things citrus.
Let’s start with segmenting an orange.
Step 1 - Cut off both ends of the orange. This makes the orange more stable and easier to peel.
Step 2 - Run a very sharp knife along the edge of the orange - separating the rind and pith from the flesh. As you can see in this photo removing the ends of the orange helps to make this task much easier.
Step 3 - Cut between the membranes of the orange to remove the segments. Be careful in this step, remember your knife is very sharp.
Okay, now let’s look at zesting and reaming a lemon.
Zesting a citrus fruit with a microplane is quite easy, but how do you know when you have reached the pith. I learned this trick by watching Tyler Florence. Hold the citrus fruit upright in your palm. Turn the zester over so the backside faces you. Now you can zest and see when you are about to reach the pitch.
So you want to take the zest of the lemon, but you want it to be in full peels. Take a kitchen peeler and remove the zest of the citrus fruit very carefully, again watch your fingers peeler can be extremely sharp.
The citrus reamer is probably the most simple kitchen tool to use. Cut the citrus fruit in half, insert the reamer into the cut half and twist applying pressure to the fruit as you twist. This inexpensive little tool can help you get the most juice out of your fruits.
I hope these tips help you the next time you are getting ready to use citrus in one of your recipes.