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I used to take my sweet time zesting lemons. I'd skate the Microplane around the surface, leisurely and randomly, either letting the zest collect in the shoot or watching it rain gently into the bowl of batter. I had all the time in the world.
But then I started spending part of each week in a professional pastry kitchen, where I zest upwards of 20 lemons in a row during every shift. One day, as I was humming along, a more experienced pastry cook asked if I'd like to learn the efficient way to get the job done. Yes!, I shouted, knowing that watching me zest my lemons must have been, to her, as frustrating as walking behind someone moving at a glacial pace through Times Square.