Better Home Cooking Basice: #57 Zest, then Juice or Freeze Citrus.

I zest citrus almost daily. By zesting citrus it packs a lot of flavor into dishes without adding extra liquid when it isn’t needed. First & foremost if you are using the zest of citrus (limes, lemons, oranges, etc) you should zest the fruit while it’s whole - it's much easier this way. But then what? Well you can either cut it in half & juice it or if you’re not going to use it right away you can freeze it. I wouldn’t leave it in the freezer for more than a week. When you’re ready to use it take it out of the freezer & pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to let it thaw & you can use the juice then. If you don't freeze it the citrus fruit becomes a shriveled tough raisin that is virtually un-juiceable (read: a waste!).

Say good bye to shriveled pre-zested citrus at your house & hello to a freezer full of juicy possibilities.
Get more of my better home cooking basics here. 

Better Home Cooking Basics: #51 Choose Citrus Fruit that is Bright , Smooth & Shiny in Texture & Feels Heavy.

The other day I was using a microplane to zest the limes that I was substituting for lemons to make chimichurri sauce. After collecting all the zest I needed, I cut the limes in half to juice them. Two out of the three were juicy & provided lots of juice for my sauce. However, the third one was dry & pulpy with virtually  no juice to offer. That stuck with me & I headed to google to figure out how I could prevent this dehydrated citrus fiasco in the future. What I found seems like it should be common sense but it wasn’t to me (at first) so I’m sharing it with you.

When shopping for citrus here are the three things you want to look for:
Is it bright in color? If it’s a lemon is it bright like the sun? if it’s  lime is it really green?
Is the texture smooth & shiny?  If not throw it back & look for a one that is.
Is it heavy? Bigger is not always better but heavier is. The heavier the piece of citrus fruit the more juice it’s bound to have in side.

Do you have any tips for selecting the best fruits & veggies? Please share in the comments below!

Get more of my better home cooking basics here.