Cheese Grater

No kitchen is complete without a cheese grater, which can provide a variety of functions and can come in a plethora of design options. While the convenience of packaged grated cheese found at the local market is unsurpassed, freshly grated cheese can provide the perfect topping for many salads, soups and pasta dishes. Cheese graters can also offer a variety of other functions, from grating nutmeg and carrots to creating a delicious zest from your favorite citrus fruit. The market is inundated with a variety of brands and designs of graters today, to meet the needs and preferences of professional and amateur chefs alike. But which grater is the best choice for you? The answer to this question will depend on a number of factors.

The "Cowbell" Design

Most of us remember a cheese grater in our mother's kitchen that resembled a cowbell in design, with a variety of grating options on each side. These types of cheese graters are still a popular design of today, although they can be a bit hard of the knuckles and fingers if they are not used with extreme care. Another variety of grater that is seen in many kitchen cupboards is the flat variety. This grater can be placed over a bowl, and the cheese is run over the top of the surface. The freshly grated cheese will fall into the bowl. Keep in mind that this design can be harder to use, since one hand must hold the cheese grater firmly while the other moves the cheese back and forth. There is still room for the occasional cut or scrape as well, if caution is not exercised.

There are new models of cheese graters on the market today that are much safer for knuckles and fingers and much more thorough in the grating process. These include the hand-held devices that have a compartment for you to place a chunk of cheese into. You then turn a crank on the outside of the compartment, and grated cheese will fall from the outside of the device. This is a great choice if you like to add freshly grated cheese to your salads or pasta dishes, but it can be a bit hard on the hands if used too often. Another option in this style of cheese grater is a table top variety. It is slightly larger than the hand-held counterpart, and comes in a variety of colors to coordinate with your table coverings.

For those who can't easily grate the cheese manually, there are also electric cheese graters on the market today. Simply place your blocks of cheese into the grater, press a button, and voila! Freshly grated cheese whenever you like, with minimum effort required. While these models tend to be much pricier than the manual designs, they can be worth the money if you suffer from arthritis or have trouble with the manual cheese graters.

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