Recently, someone asked me if there was a difference between the "zest" of a citrus fruit and the "peel." In short, the answer is yes. The peel is the name for the whole skin of the fruit, which is comprised of two layers: the zest and the pith. The zest is the colored, outer surface of the fruit while the pith is the soft, white inner layer. The vast majority of recipes will call for the zest of a fruit only. The pith is actually bitter and gives an unpleasant aftertaste if eaten, but the zest contains the very flavorful oils/essence of the fruit.

Once you know what the zest is, the question is how to get it off. The layer is very thin compared to the fruit as a whole, but it can be cut off with a knife and then chopped into fine pieces. A more efficient way is to use either a zester (pictured) or a microplane, both of which are tools that slice off only the zest from a fruit. A zester produces long, thin strips that need to be finely chopped, while a microplane naturally creates a very fine chop that needs no further alteration before being added to a recipe.

Meyer lemons are not like ordinary lemons. They are actually a hybrid fruit, a cross between tangerines or mandarin orange and lemons, which is native to China. Meyer lemons were introduced to the United States shortly after the turn of the 20th century by a man named Frank Meyer, hence the name of the fruit. Most of the lemons are grown in California, but they are also cultivated in states like Texas and Florida.

Meyer lemons are smaller and more spherical than most lemons, with a thin peel that turns slightly orange or goldenrod-colored when it is ripe. The thinness of the peel, when compared to that of more traditional lemon varieties, is very noticeable and it does make the fruits more delicate. As a result of this, for many years, these fruits were not widely available outside the immediate areas in which they were grown, but they are now enjoying a more widespread popularity.