Microplane Zester Review

Time for another kitchen product review. In this article, I take a look at the Microplane zester. I give my honest opinion as to whether I think you should have one in your kitchen or not. I have been using this handy kitchen gadget for several years now. So I am excited to talk about it.

Is the Microplane zester right for you? If you do a lot of cooking and baking and make recipes that call for lemon zest, orange zest, etc. Then the answer just might be yes.

In this post, you will learn all about the Microplane zester, what it is, how to use it, and where to buy one. On to the review!

*Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post.

What is the Microplane zester?

First of all, for those of you who may not be familiar, let me describe what the Microplane Zester is. It is essentially a little grater. It is a long metal tool, similar looking to a metal file, and it has sharp little raised edges with holes in it.

The hand is very comfortable to hold which makes using it easier. It produces a much finer particle than something like a cheese grater.

It is used for skinning or shaving off small particles from the skin of citrus. That part of the peel contains essential oils with immense flavor.

Why use it?

The Microplane’s sole purpose is to be able to get the zest from the peels of oranges, lemons, limes, etc. The zest from citrus adds lots of flavor to sauces, cakes, etc. Many chefs and cooks add zest to recipes to boost the flavor or accentuate a certain flavor. For example, I used orange zest in my Orange Cake recipe and lime zest in my key lime pie recipe.

How to use the Microplane zester?

The zester is extremely easy to use. Hold it over your bowl with the grate side and handle with the name pointing up. Then gently slide the citrus across it.

Rotate the citrus while you are doing it, so you don’t start shaving the pith underneath the peel. You can let the zest fall right into your main bowl or do it over a smaller ingredient-only bowl.

Then use your zest according to the recipe.

Is this tool necessary?

No, it isn’t necessary but it is extremely helpful. If you don’t use zest in recipes very often it may not be worth purchasing. For example, you can use a citrus peeler and peel the orange, lemon, lime, normally. Then take kitchen shears and cut away the peel from the pith (white part). Now use the shears to cut that part of the peel into little pieces or “zest”.

That method takes way more time, and it doesn’t create the “perfect” zest as this Microplane does.

If you have a 4 sized stand-up cheese grater, it may have a “zester” side. I find those still don’t work that great, but again, if it is an ingredient you won’t need often, then it will most likely be sufficient.

All in all, I am happy I own mine. It is very convenient and gets the job done really quickly.

Where to buy it?

You can find it on Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Walmart, and others. There are other brands as well, but I really like this one. It is highly rated with several thousand ratings.

I hope you enjoyed this review of the Microplane zester. Let me know in the comments if you get one and how you like it.

Watch the video review here: