Most helpful customer reviews

101 of 102 people found the following review helpful.
Oxo=excellent ergonomics
By David Wihowski
I am a quadriplegic/tetraplegic (C5-6 for any of you who care). I have only about 1/3 use of my hands and about 1/2 use of my arms, but I can use this zester--not with great ease, but I can use it! I cannot use any other zester I have tried.

My mother has mild arthritis and she likes my Oxo tools better than her own (even the ones she's grown to love over the years).

The zesting blades are sharp and at the perfect angle. You get perfect zest with little effort. And you get NO pith (bitter white part).

As with almost all Oxo tools the design is excellent: it is highly ergonomic--it fits the hand and works the way it should.

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful.
A useful tool, just not necessarily for zesting
By John Bollinger
This is a nice little tool, as far as making strips of citrus zest; BUT there are a lot of recipes that call for a finer zest, which is hard to get out of this zester. I've found that a microplane grater works a lot better at getting a fine zest, and lets you get at LOT more of the zest off the lemon. With the OXO Zester, you only get a few strips at a time, and it gets tricky to go back between the strips to get all the zest off. I gave the OXO three stars because I don't think it's the optimal tool for what its main function is supposed to be.

However, the way the OXO works does make it useful for other applications. I use it to make thin julienne carrot strips for salads, and I imagine it could do the same with any reasonably firm fruit or vegetable. And it is good for garnishing.

If you do a lot of zesting for recipes and such, I would go with the microplane grater. If you do more garnishing and only zest occasionally, this OXO should serve you well enough. Personally, I say buy both; they're cheap. :)

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful.
A better way to add zest to your cooking!
By Diane Rossman
Most kitchens probably do not have a lemon zester as a routine item, but the OXO zester is a must for both casual and professional cooks. The problem with most zesters is they aren't sharp enough to properly zest only the lemon peel but instead give you white pith along with the zest. But the OXO only gives you the best of the lemon as it stainless steel blade cuts sharply and cleanly. Another excellent feature is a built in garnishing tool that allows you to cut designs into citrus fruit thus giving you two kitchen gadgets for the price of one. The zester is quite durable and goes through the dishwasher quite well too. This tool is also extremely safe for even the youngest of hands as its slip proof construction allows you to grip it easily without fear of slipping and hurting oneself. So add some zest the OXO way!