spiral lemon peel

Also known as “horse’s neck”. A spiral lemon peel is a long strip of lemon peel (twist) used as a garnish. Spiral peels are generally cut in a corkscrew pattern using a channel knife, beginning at one pole of the fruit and working toward the other while rotating the fruit against the knife. The knife traverses around the fruit three to five times along before reaching the other end, producing a narrow strip of peel two or three times longer than the fruit's circumference. Enormous quantities of essential oils spray from the fruit as the spiral is cut, so it is advisable to perform this action over the drink in question. Technically, a Horse’s Neck is a spiral lemon peel that includes the nibs at the poles of the lemon. Typically, a Horse’s neck is produced by, first, carefully cutting a standard spiral lemon peel with a channel knife, then using a paring knife to cut the remaining peel—the Horse's Neck—off the fruit as a single long piece. Horse’s Necks are usually thicker than the spiral peels cut by channel knives, and they are usually coiled inside a tall glass with one of the nibs hooked over the lip of the glass to keep this garnish in place.