If you have a grater with several sizes of holes, use the smallest size. It may or may not be a microplane, but can be used as a zester nonetheless.
Notice that the blades are angled in one direction. Pushing the lime against the cutting edges of the blades will produce zest, while pushing it in the opposite direction will have no effect. The cutting edges of the blades should be facing up toward the ceiling. If you are using a fine grater instead of a microplane, push as gently as possible to avoid digging into the bitter, white pith beneath the skin.
Be careful not to remove the bitter white pith beneath the skin.
You don’t need to spend the effort getting every last piece of zest out of the lime. The ends of the lime may be difficult to zest, for instance.
Some refer to this tool as a “traditional zester” and call microplanes “microplane zesters. "
The thickness of lime skin varies more than most citrus fruit, so it is difficult to predict how much zest is produced by one lime. If the recipe calls for “zest from one lime” without specifying the variety of lime, use approximately two tsp (10 mL) of zest.
If you are right-handed, hold the lime with your left hand. If you are left-handed, hold it with your right hand.
