Recipes For Cooking With Citrus Zest

The most flavorful part of citrus? Just scratch the surface. Zest, the hard, bright exterior layer of limes, lemons, grapefruit and oranges can give just about any dish a major boost. Start by using a Microplane or grater to remove the very outside of the peel—if you hit the white pith beneath the peel, you've gone too far. Then add the superfine and flavorable shavings to just about anything and everything, from roast vegetables and proteins to cakes and cocktails.

Need some fresh new recipes? These citrus–driven recipes from Sunkist will give your meals—and your cooking—a zesty new lease on life.

Zest is great for baking, and this spectacular orange cake (see the recipe) gets a double dose of orange zest: first in the batter, then in whipped Greek yogurt, which finishes off the baked cake.

Zest is great in marinades, too. This flank steak (see the recipe) is marinated in lemon zest, garlic and red wine before hitting the grill. Then it's served with a lemon olive vinaigrette, a final hit of citrus.

Lemon bars owe their ultra–concentrated flavor to—you guessed it—lemon zest. To give retro lemon bars a touch of modern sophistication, add just a hint of herbs, like thyme (see the recipe).

Much like lemon bars, lemon meringue pie also owes its concentrated, zippy flavor to zest. This version is baked in mason jars (see the recipe), making it a perfect (and cute!) single–serving dessert for dinner parties.

This fabulous roast chicken (see the recipe) is dry–marinated in Meyer lemon zest, garlic, thyme and white pepper, and then served with a marmalade sauce.