Let me see if I can shine down on Pastry Zest, what it is, and what it won’t do.

No pretty picture for this one. I want you to pay attention to this post, especially my bakery folks! This is a must have. Sure you might think you can work around not having it.. but it brings out a difference to your juices.

If you want a believable cookie or cake, a piece of pie, a waffle, or crepe.. You need this in your arsenal. You do not need much, it is an additive. It is NOT a main flavor, and if you over use it, you will have more of a “grit” paste effect than you want.

It’s loaded with tiny back notes, front notes and even has a middle note. There is nothing out there like it. Nothing.

This is the glue to making bakery tastes happen. Using it from a couple drops.. .06g or .12% gives hints to zest, and if you bump it up to .2% the granular start to show up.. average lowest use for me is .2%… keep on raising it up.. .4% actually doubling the amount, and you get that grainy taste.. you know that floured feeling… and the zest really does play well.. In my lemon tart pie.. it actually gets swallowed up.. and should be an optional flavor. However.. with macaroon.. that floured bits and the zest, work to make it pop better. With pound cake, if it is not lemon.. let’s say a vanilla pound cake.. you would want to use it in there at .4% for a light zesty taste, to help the vanilla show up better, with taste. I would never take this to .6% and beyond.. as it is a helper flavor.. just watch using it around other citruses.. Think outside the box, with chocolates.. perhaps some nuts like peanut brittle.. and it even goes nice in tobaccos..

Like I want to keep saying.. it is a helper, an additive. Write down your experiments and see if you can think of others 🙂