Microplane Gourmet Fine Grater

Product Information

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.

Potatoes: We sliced half a potato on each box grater with a wide blade to see how consistent the pieces were. 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.” Comfortable to use: ergonomic soft-grip handle; non-slip foot; easily maneuverable; no need to apply pressure 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. Rotary graters are the ideal grater for people who don’t want to risk getting their fingers cut while grating. With the grating blade inside this mechanism, you can avoid that accident entirely. All you have to do is place your food in the hopper, turn the crank, and you’ll end up with perfectly grated food. Our tester noted that the hopper in this rotary grater is larger than others they tested, so you don’t need to refill it often. We were really impressed with how the hard cheese came out, with our tester saying it produced “a large volume of fluffy, feathery cheese with each turn” and that “this cheese is thinner than anything you can buy at the grocery store.”

Sturdy: A good grater should sit firmly on a counter, cutting board, or plate to ensure safe grating. A stable base on box graters or a non-slip edge for paddle and flat graters makes that easier. Graters should also be solidly built, with metal sides that don’t bend under pressure from hard vegetables. 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. 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.

Box graters are usually the de facto choice for many home cooks thanks to their versatility and stability. We found this box grater to be exactly those things, and due to its performance, believe that it will last a long while. This can be credited to its sturdy material and impressive sharpness. Our tester told us that the blades on this grater are so sharp that they would recommend people get cut-resistant gloves to prevent injuring their fingers (our tester did). This is good news though, because graters, like knives, dull overtime.Learn More About How We Test Products What to Look for in a Microplane Grater and Zester Versatility Blade types include coarse (largest), medium (between coarse and fine), fine, and a slicer. “A simple general rule of thumb is a coarse blade grater is best for any ingredient, like cheese or a vegetable, that’s going to be cooked—think hash browns, zucchini fritters, mozzarella or cheddar cheese that should melt while cooking,” says Flores. This zester's rubber foot gives it some traction when you brace it against the counter to add a little more muscle to your zesting.

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. 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.Looking to make some nachos or mac and cheese? What about some grilled cheese sandwiches? Whatever cozy, warming recipes you’re looking to whip up, cheese can almost certainly improve them. And, while you can buy pre-shredded cheese, of course, it’s generally fresher and tastier if you grate your own.