The Mechanics of Grating Citrus Fruit
The first thing you should know about grating lemons and other citrus fruit for use in your own culinary creations is what exactly is citrus zest, and why should you be concerned about doing the best job possible in obtaining it?
The zest of a lemon or lime consists of only the outermost colored part of the citrus skin. Known botanically as exocarp, this zest layer is typically very thin. It is both aromatic and flavorful, because it contains the essential oils, and aromas, that make a lemon smell like a lemon. Its powerful good taste stands in sharp contrast to the undesirable inner white part of the skin which is known as mesocarp, or pith.
Because of its bitter taste, the pith is highly undesirable for any recipes calling for lemon zest. In the types of delicately flavored dishes which call for zest, this bitter taste can easily overpower the other ingredients and ruin the final product. When grating or zesting a lemon, this is why it is important to choose a grater that will only remove the zest, while leaving the pith behind.
Over the years, there have been many different types of graters, zesters, peelers, and other culinary gadgets, designed for the purpose of grating a lemon. As we shall see, some are more desireable then others.
Traditional Metal Graters
Among the earliest of the types of graters designed, the common traditional metal flat grater comes in many shapes and sizes. Most often flat and relatively large, they may have a handle or other gripping device, and are also often formed into squares to incorporate several different sizes of grating teeth in one device.
Their common characteristic is that they are principally designed to grate vegetables in bulk, not citrus fruit, and as such must emphasize razor-sharp cutting teeth, typically the larger the better, spread over the entire surface of the grater's face.
While this is definitely an optimum layout for grating carrots or cheese, the scoop-shaped grater teeth (even if made very small) will still have an unavoidable tendency to cut too deep into a lemon, removing as much bitter pith as desirable zest.
They are also inherently dangerous: the same teeth that make short work of carrots, can cut fingers with equal aplomb.
Rasp Graters
A recent arrival on the citrus grating scene, rasp graters are based on the same concept as a wood rasp: very fine metal teeth or grooves do the cutting and grating work, and because of their extreme sharpness they are able to remove zest with more precision then the common flat grater.
In fact they do a good job of removing just the zest and avoiding the pith. However, several brands tout the sharpness of their 'surgical grade' steel, leading to the obvious worry of what happens when your fingers come in contact with that surgical grade steel.
Another problem is that even with good quality stainless steel, the teeth are still prone to dulling eventually. Any product which depends on a razor-sharp edge will naturally become harder and less precise to use as that edge dulls.
Lemon Zester
The lemon zester is a tool with a curved end consisting of 5 small cutting holes that remove the zest of a lemon in long strips, perfect for citrus garnishes.
Because these delicate cutting holes are more easily guided via the handle, this culinary tool does an excellent job of removing just the zest.
Safety is also better then other styles of grater, since its usage normally prevents the users hand from coming into contact with the cutting holes.
Unfortunately, the principal drawback to the lemon zester is that one must still use a knife to finely dice the resulting zest strips, unless they are to be used exclusively as a garnish.
The Citrus Grater
We feel the Citrus Grater is the final evolution of citrus grater technology. Its grating teeth are set at an angle and height specifically designed to remove only the citrus zest, avoiding the pith completely, while still yielding a superior finely grated zest collected for easy measuring and use in the lower half of the grater.
The concave grating surface of the upper half of the Citrus Grater allows the lemon or lime to be cupped within the tool itself, making the grating process easier, while also keeping the teeth away from your knuckles or fingers.
The FDA-approved food grade plastic is sturdy enough for years of use, and its patented grating teeth will not injure the Cook and will never dull or rust.