[kokopuffs]

Folks, I'm ready to move into high class. I need a Parmesian cheese grater for domestic use. I have finally tired of using Kraft Parmesian cheese. I want the fresh grated stuff! Should I get the flat grater or the kind that has a crank - wheel?

 

[kimmie]

Koko,

If you already have a box grater, look no further and grate on the small holes.

 

[anneke]

Congrats! Welcome to the club! I hope you realise that now you'll never be able to go back... I have both types but I never use the one with the wheel because it takes longer to clean and because you always end up with a small piece of cheese in there that refuses to be grated.

Instead, I would purchase a rasp: (see item #4 here: rasp )

It's very versatile and easy to use, and if you use a lot of lemon zest and ginger like I do, you'll find this product fantastic. It's also easier to clean than a box grater.

[ July 27, 2001: Message edited by: Anneke ]

 

[svadhisthana]

I think it's a matter of personal preference. They both work for chocolate, nuts and spices as well as cheese. The flat one takes up less space and is easy to clean. However, the hand crank one would save you from any accidental skin removal .
I have the flat kind and love it.

 

[kylew]

I'm with Kimmie. I love my box grater. no moving parts to break or wear out. I think it may have even been my grandmother's

 

[kimmie]

Yeah Kyle,

I also use my rasp #5 from Martha Stewart when I want a fine look to the cheese!

There too, no parts to break...

 

[kylew]

I have the same #5 zester. The handle can't fall off

[ July 27, 2001: Message edited by: KyleW ]

 

[kimmie]

Kyle,

 

[isa]

I had a Zyliss grater I used it once and returned it. It's really less trouble to used the rasp or the box grater. If you have a lot of cheese to grate there is always the food processor.

 

[mezzaluna]

I had a Zyliss grater until the grating core fell in the disposal.... Now I have one from Pampered chef. I store it with the cheese in it, inside a Ziplock bag so it's always on hand. If a friend weren't selling the gadget, I'd probably have stuck with a small flat grater I used before that. The attraction of the new grater was a)friendship, and b) interchangeable cores with different size holes and slicer slots.

 

[nancya]

I love my Zyliss for doing just a little and it's a fun toy at the table. I, like Mezzaluna, store it in a ziploc. I certainly don't wash it every time I use it.

I use my box grater [or even my salad shooter] for large amounts.

 

[lobster]

I much prefer my rasp grater to the box grater/processor, although when 'large' amounts of grated stuff are needed, I default to my processor. The rasp is effortless, and I believe one can purchase a fine, medium, or coarse rasp. Incidentially, courtesy of a magazine I read, they suggested inverting the rasp when you use it to zest fruits (that is, the fruit under the rasp, and the rasp inverted over the fruit. You collect the zest in the underside of the rasp, and can easily measure it out from there.

 

[lobster]

Sorry - I need to clarify. When I stated 'rasp', I meant the Microplane grater.

 

[mudbug]

I too highly recommend the Microplane products. Nothing compares to their patented razor blade graters.

Check them out here.

Browse opinions here .

 

[callstar]

I haven't tried Microplane's Graters but I've heard a lot of good about them.

I prefer the flat graters for parmesan cheese.

 

[mikelm]

The Microplane was invented - 12 or so years ago - as a remarkable new form of wood rasp. It was Leonard Lee, founder of Lee Valley/Veritas woodworkers supply store, who pointed out how great it was for kitchen use.

It grates cheese, garlic, nutmeg - almost anything fairly firm - like no other tool. And, when you're finished in the kitchen, you can use it in your wood shop as a highly efficient and precise wood plane! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif

Mike

 

[kyheirloomer]

Less well known is the diversity of blade types made by Microplane. There are at least 8 of them, each of which cuts differently. And, of course, they come in numerous configurations.

As Mike points out, they are fantastic tools in both the kitchen and the workshop.

One correction, however. The Microplane was not "a remarkable new form of wood rasp." The Stanley Shur-Form tools preceeded them, and used the same style of blade. The difference is that advanced metal-working technology allows the Microplane's to use smaller teeth that, as a practical matter, never need sharpening. The Shur-Forms would go dull, over time, and the blades had to be replaced.

I still have both a flat and a round Shur-Form in my workshop. But, to the best of my knowledge, replacement blades are no longer available.