Juice gives sour, peel gives smell
Citrus juice is mostly water, sugar, and acid. Lemon juice is about 5% acid. The smell comes from oil in the peel. So juice alone tastes sour but smells weak.
The oil sits in tiny pockets
Look closely at a lemon. The skin is covered in small dots. Each dot is a pocket of fragrant oil. Bending or zesting the peel breaks them open.
Why yuzu is special
Yuzu has little juice but a very fragrant peel. Japanese cooks use the peel as much as the juice. That is why lemon juice alone never tastes like yuzu.
Skip the white pith
Under the colored skin is a white layer. It holds bitter compounds. Take only the thin colored layer.
Shunta says:
Twist a strip of peel over the bowl first. Then drop it in. A fine mist of oil lands on top.
