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Home || How To || How to Make a Lemon or Lime Twist

by 19 Comments

Lemon twist on a black background. Lovely lemon curl.
Home || How To || How to Make a Lemon or Lime Twist

by 19 Comments

How to Make a Lemon or Lime Twist

How to garnish your cocktail or drink with a pretty lemon twist, lime twist, or orange twist.
5 from 7 votes
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In this post, I will show you the easy way to make a lemon twist or lime twist garnish. Cocktails and beverages with citrus ingredients can be garnished using a lemon twist, lime twist, or orange twist. Sometimes called a lemon curl or citrus curl, a twist of citrus peel can add such a lovely touch. Citrus twists are easy to make, and they add visual appeal to your drink. It’s simple! Here’s how.

Three beautiful citrus twists - lemon twist, lime twist, and orange twist - for cocktail garnish, on a black cutting board. Citrus peel twisted into a curl.

Lemon twist on a black background. Lovely lemon curl.

How to Make a Lemon or Lime Twist

How to garnish your cocktail or drink with a pretty lemon twist, lime twist, or orange twist.
PRINT RECIPE
COURSE: Drinks
Kosher Key: Parve
Servings: 1 serving
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 1 minute
Total Time: 2 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 fresh ripe lemon, lime, or orange
  • 1 sharp knife

NOTES

You will also need: A sharp knife

Instructions

  • Take a fresh lemon, lime, or orange. Slice a ring from it, about 1/4 inch thick, from the thickest part of the citrus.
    Sliced lemon round beside a half lemon.
  • Make a slice through one side of the peel and the pulp.
    Paring knife cutting notch at the bottom of a citrus lemon round slice.
  • Use a paring knife to carefully slice around the fruit to separate the peel from the round of citrus. The white part of the peel, called the pith, is bitter. You don't want a lot of it on your lemon curl, but you do need a little pith intact for the curl to hold its shape. Aim to slice halfway between the edge of the citrus and the fruit, about halfway through the pith.
    Knife slicing around the edge of a lemon round to make citrus twist.
  • Cut the fruit pulp off of the peel so that you have one long thin strip of peel.
    Lemon peel sliced neatly away from lemon round in preparation for making a lemon twist.
  • Trim any thick parts of pith away from the citrus peel strip.
    Before making a lemon twist, excess pith is being trimmed away from lemon peel strip.
  • Trim the edges, if you want to, to make the strip a uniform width (this is optional and will make it look more "perfect").
    Citrus peel strip with edge trimmed off to make a straight even line, paring knife beside it, in preparation for making a citrus twist.
  • Twist the peel into a curly-q shape. You can simply twist it with your hands.
    Lemon twist on a black background. Lovely lemon curl.
  • Or, you can twist it around a long skewer - like a chopstick. Use the warmth of your hands to mold the peel into a spiral curl. The peel should naturally hold its shape.
    Hand grasping lemon twist around a skewer.
  • Use lemon or lime twists to garnish cocktails or beverages. Orange twists are lovely too. Sometimes called a lemon curl, lime curl, or orange curl, this citrus garnish couldn't be easier to make - and it will add a lovely, aromatic touch to your drink.
    Ice cold lemon cocktail with lovely lemon twist. Lemon curl dangles from the edge of the cold glass. Lemon slice and peel beside the glass, cocktail jigger and shaker in background.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
How to Make a Lemon or Lime Twist
Amount Per Serving
Calories 31
% Daily Value*
Sodium 2mg0%
Potassium 149mg4%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin C 57.3mg69%
Calcium 28mg3%
Iron 0.6mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!

Additional photography licensed via Shutterstock.

Nutritional information should be considered an estimate only; please consult a registered dietician, nutritionist, or your physician for specific health-related questions. Read more here. Please note that the recipe above is published using a recipe card plugin, with preexisting software which can auto-calculate metric measurements, as well as change the number of servings. Metric conversions and changes to the number of servings (resulting in different ingredient amounts) will only appear in the ingredient list, and are not changed within the step-by-step directions of the recipe.
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Comments

  2. Avatar photoIoene Davidson says

    Thanks it looks cute on my cocktail glass. My boozy zoomer group of friends are making French 75 tonight!

    Reply

  3. Avatar photonyrelle says

    5 stars
    I made a lemon bundt cake and put these on top!! it’s sooo pretty and I covered the twists in sugar so it’s sparkly too! I’m really happy and it was really to do its really artsy and simple.

    Reply

  4. Avatar photoSusan says

    5 stars
    Just as Phil said, I don’t know why this never occurred to me, but your instructions saved my drinks from looking sad and unprofessional. Thank you so much! ??

    Reply

  6. Avatar photoPhil says

    5 stars
    For some reason it never occurred to me to take the slice our of the peel rather than trying to cut off a piece of peel and twirl it. Thanks!

    Reply

  7. Avatar photoJudith A Corigliano says

    Thanks, settled a question between husband ( my drink maker) and me. Thanks for the nutrition label.

    Reply

  10. Avatar phototp says

    5 stars
    Awesome…easy….why didn’t I think of that instead of carving it from the surface of a full fruit as I normally labored with foe countless years before… thanks!!

    Reply

  11. Avatar photoAdriano says

    Ethylene expedites ripening and is in apples. So keep apples away from fruits you don’t want to ripen too quickly.

    Lemons and lime juice slow down ripening and spoiling process. At 65F or less, your rinds are good for a good 12 hrs to 24 hrs..

    Reply

  13. Avatar photod& says

    As a heads up to folks making this stuff the first time, get rid of that white stuff between the peel and the pulp (the pith). You can scrape it off with a knife, as with a lottery scratch-ticket.

    If you don’t, it adds a bitterness to the drink that isn’t generally intended. Bargle.

    Reply

  14. Avatar photoHannah says

    Never knew this was so easy! I’m about to try it. I don’t think these could be expected to last long in the fridge. Proper cocktails are always made fresh, not made ahead–I think this should apply to the garnishes, as well.

    Reply

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