Cutting Citrus for Garnish: Why Your Peels Look Amateur

Citrus garnishes separate professional bartenders from amateurs, and it comes down to knife skills and understanding what you're cutting. A clean peel with minimal pith looks better and tastes better because pith is bitter and detracts from the cocktail.

Use a sharp paring knife or Y-peeler for cutting peels. Dull knives tear the fruit and give you ragged edges with excessive pith. A Y-peeler is faster and produces consistent results—hold the fruit firmly and pull the peeler across the skin in one smooth motion, applying just enough pressure to get the colored zest without digging into the white pith underneath.

For wider peels that you'll express over drinks, use a paring knife. Cut off the ends of the fruit first to create flat surfaces. Hold the fruit steady and slice downward following the curve, keeping your blade angled to catch just the colored skin. You want a piece roughly the size of a large coin. Practice makes this faster—your first attempts will be messy, but after cutting a few dozen you'll develop the feel for proper depth.

Twists are decorative and require a different technique. Cut a thin strip of peel about a quarter-inch wide and two inches long, then twist it tightly and release. It should hold a spiral shape. These work well for Martinis and other elegant cocktails served in coupes.

Wheels and wedges serve different purposes. Wheels are cross-sections of the whole fruit and work for drinks like Gin and Tonics where the garnish sits on the rim. Cut them about a quarter-inch thick. Wedges are for drinks where the guest might squeeze citrus into the drink themselves—cut the fruit into sixths or eighths depending on size.

Store cut garnishes in the refrigerator covered with damp paper towels. They'll stay fresh for service but shouldn't be held overnight. Fresh-cut garnishes are noticeably better than day-old ones.