Kitchen tips and tricks: The best zester and grater

I always avoided recipes requiring orange or lemon zest because my grater just wasn't up to the task. It took an incredibly long time to zest and most of the zest got stuck on the grater. Then I discovered this Microplane zester at Borough Kitchen (my favourite cookshop) and it changed my culinary life.

I knew it was going to be a big improvement on my old grater. I wasn't prepared for how big of a difference it made. Now I can effortlessly zest a whole lemon in under a minute or an orange. It's not tiring, and I don't have to worry about the zester going too deep and scraping off some of the bitter white rind by accident.

I even tried it with a block of parmesan cheese and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Now I actually bother using grated parmesan in recipes! Hello pasta with freshly grated parmesan, hello madeleines with lemon and orange zest, hello tabbouli with lemon zest, hello chocolate cake with orange zest.

It doesn't take up a lot of space in my utensil drawer, and it's one of the most useful tools in my kitchen arsenal. It's not very expensive either. What are you waiting for? Get one!