Microplane Gourmet Fine Grater

Product Information

Versatile: We preferred graters that have multiple sides with different hole sizes. Coarse holes (which vary in width from grater to grater) are useful for shredding vegetables (like potatoes and carrots), as well as firm or soft cheeses (like cheddar and mozzarella); fine holes are good for thinner shavings from citrus zest, garlic, nutmeg, ginger, and hard cheeses (like Parmesan and Pecorino Romano). Some box graters also have wide blades on one side to create slices of hard vegetables like beets or potatoes. Slagle says the biggest mistake she sees people make with their graters is not replacing them when they start to wear. “If you’re struggling when you grate on it, or the ingredients are grating in mushy mounds instead of individual pieces, then it’s time to retire it,” she says. If you are looking for something that you can grate, slice, julienne and also collect and store your produce in, then take a look at this OXO Good Grips complete grate and slice set. It comes with four separate grating surfaces, each of which is color-coded for your convenience. They can be used on their own or in conjunction with the transparent container, which also has handy measuring marks. There’s also a transparent lid which can be additionally used as a flat top for storing sliced and grated produce. The cover itself has a 2-cup capacity, so it highly practical in itself. There are non-slip feet on the container to hold your base steady while you are working. Who it’s for: People who want a grater that doesn’t require a lot of pressure to keep in place while grating.

Zwilling Z-Cut Tower/Box Grater: Our tester really liked the included storage compartment built inside the grater, the fact that you could use the grater horizontally, and the two-way blades, which resulted in “consistent and professional” cheese shreds. However, it’s much more expensive than other comparable models. These little tools are up for most any job in the kitchen that involves, grating, zesting, shaving, and shredding, from making perfectly shaved nibs of chocolate for toppings to grating the finest pieces of citrus zest to go into those baked goods you're making.

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This also did a good job with our hard and soft cheeses. While it was able to slice both carrots and zucchini, it wasn’t as good as some others we tested, making some rough cuts along the way. Still, if we had the grater out and didn’t want to grab a knife, it would be handy. While the silicone bumper at the base helps keep the grater stable, we noticed that it trapped bits of cheese, which made it more difficult to clean (it's not dishwasher safe). This Microplane grater also features a dedicated area for slicing, should you want to slice up some cucumber for a salad or potatoes for potato gratin, and a bi-directional blade that produces ribbon-style shreds. Our tester also tried this grater out on smoked mozzarella and found it to work quite well. Plus, throughout the entirety of our testing, they never felt fatigued or uncomfortable using this grater, which is due in part to its steady base and ergonomic handle. Overall, our tester said they would recommend this grater, saying “it's user-friendly, high-quality, easy to clean, and versatile.”

In testing, we gave this a chance to grate parmesan cheese, but that’s not what the star-shaped grating surface is made for. This did a good job chewing through super-hard whole nutmeg, and the small storage space at the top could be handy for storing nutmeg in between uses. While this could be used in an emergency to grate other foods, it’s best to think of this as the nutmeg grater, and let it do what it’s best at. Other types of graters include flat graters, which can be operated horizontally, and rotary graters, which have no exposed blades. For rotary graters, you put your cheese in a hopper and turn a crank to lower it into the cylindrical grinders found located inside the machine.

Most people know what a zester does, but perhaps a Microplane is new to you. If so, this brand guide will help you better understand Microplane products, why they’re the grater of choice for both professional chefs and home cooks, and which one you should buy. Overall, we recommend the Microplane 4-Sided Stainless Steel Professional Box Grater. This box grater produced even shreds for hard cheese, soft cheese, and citrus, the latter of which was hard to achieve with other grater types we tested. It was also comfortable to use and the blades were sharp enough that our tester didn’t need to apply much pressure to get the grating jobs done. In testing, this managed to grate parmesan, but it wasn’t as easy as some others. However, it did a fine job with our softer Colby cheese. Slicing carrots wasn’t particularly effective, but it did a fine job slicing zucchini. We wouldn’t use this for zesting citrus unless we had no other options. Learn More About How We Test Products What to Look for in a Microplane Grater and Zester Versatility

Yes. “Graters are essentially lots of little knives,” says Slagle. “Imagine your knives if you never sharpened them—that’s the grater you’ve had for five years.” Unlike knives though, there is no way for you to sharpen the blades on a grater. So unfortunately, this is a product that you will have to replace as the years go by. The sharp blades are made of stainless steel, the handle is non-slip silicone, and the wide surface area offers plenty of space to make fast work of cheese or chocolate. Di Oro comes with a lifetime warranty and is dishwasher safe for easy cleanup. This comes with a cover for storage, but it has holes that leave some of the sharp blades exposed.In our final product review, we’re taking a look at a two-fold grater from the popular OXO Good Grips collection. This gatefold design is unique looking and is the perfect double-use tool. It’s a kind of halfway house if you like between a box grater and a hand grater combining the best of both worlds. You can stand this style over a bowl and grate directly where you need to without making any mess. Or, if you prefer, you can snap it apart and grate over a chopping board instead. We really think the versatility to operate two ways thanks to those detachable surfaces is an excellent feature. If you like versatility, you'll love our popular Square Grater. This kitchen grater is a real all-rounder and can help you finely cut practically all your favorite ingredients. Our Tower grater with Z-Cut two-way grating technology has four grating surfaces that let you grate everything from fruits, vegetables or nuts to chocolate and cheese. As a practical extra, the Square Grater comes with a matching collection tray so you can remove your freshly grated ingredients with no mess. In testing, we liked that we had a choice of cutting or grating with the inserts in the holder, or holding them up at a steeper angle, like a mandoline. The smallest grater wasn’t as small as some of the graters we tested, but worked well for both cheese and zesting. The larger grating surface also worked well. The julienne blade made small thin slices that were smaller than a traditional julienne cut, but worked well. The slicer was one of our favorites, slicing both carrots and zucchini with ease. This ultra-sharp, fine Microplane Grater makes light work of zesting citrus fruit or finely grating cheese, chocolate, nutmeg, spices, garlic, horseradish, ginger and more. The really fine cut also produces a much more intensely fresh flavour for salads, to garnish a dessert, or to add to casseroles and bakes.

Whether we’re zesting lemons for a zingy lemon drizzle, grating nutmeg for a cheese sauce or slathering shavings of parmesan over sourdough for the ultimate cheese toastie, you can guarantee there’ll be a Microblade to hand. This rasp-inspired one which started the Microplane revolution is a great all rounder. Features include: Comfortable to use: ergonomic soft-grip handle; non-slip foot; easily maneuverable; no need to apply pressure The grater is dishwasher safe, and we ran it though the dishwasher multiple times during testing. The box should be hand washed, but if it’s only used for storage it shouldn’t need a lot of cleaning.Flat graters offer convenience that other graters can’t match. By lying the grater flat, you don’t have to apply as much pressure as you would to hold an upright grater in place. Our tester certainly found this to be true while testing, as they were able to actually place it over their plate while grating. “It was incredibly easy to grate the hard cheese because the rubber feet provided great support/friction,” they said. They also attributed this grater’s ease of use to its length, as it was also able to zest the orange quite well. They did say, though, that there was a difference in the zest between small holes and the larger ones present on rasp graters, so keep that in mind before you buy. Pecorino: We shredded 1 ounce of Pecorino using the fine holes on each box grater, and using each rasp grater or zester. Again, we looked for undesirable crumbling, shearing, and messiness, as well as uniform shred size and shape. Based in Arkansas in the US, Microplane have over 40 years’ experience of photo-etching technology and were the first company to use the process for making culinary tools – which led to them making what they believe to be the sharpest grater blades in the world for effortless, precise grating to maximise aroma and flavour without ripping, tearing or shredding. Made from start to finish from the highest quality stainless steel in their own dedicated factories, Microplane graters have non-slip bases, protective covers for safe storage, and ergonomic soft-grip handles to give you a really secure hold. Each one carries a lifetime guarantee. Nutmeg: We grated one nutmeg berry on the fine holes of each box grater and each rasp or zester to see how easily teeth cut through the hard flesh of the berry. All four sides of this box grater performed phenomenally during our testing. Our testers were able to produce uniform shreds of hard and soft cheese on both the coarse and fine grater blades with little to no effort. Our tester said there were similarly great zesting results while using the fine blade, so much so that they told us they’d be fine using the grater as an alternative to owning a separate zesting tool. They attributed these results to the quality of the grater’s material as well as the size of the grating holes, which our tester said were larger than holes they had seen in other box graters.