Review on Microplane 45004 Gourmet Black Grater by Michelle Ramanath

When we moved into our house a few years ago, we somehow lost a grater and a single handle cheese grater. Since then, I've lugged around a trusty old Cuisinart food processor whenever I needed to grate cheese...which is literally excruciating (I have heavy DDD) and caused a lot of unnecessary cleaning. Since my Microplane (fortunately didn't get lost in the move) does an excellent job of extracting citrus peel and chopping up small items, I decided to use the Microplane and I'm glad I did! This little grater is amazing! It's much more convenient and takes up much less space than an old-fashioned bulky grater. With a box grater, you need a stable surface so you can grate your plate or paper towel, but you still need to hold it with one hand. This allows you to place the grater horizontally on your plate, bowl, pot or pan, or simply hold it at an angle over your dish while grating, without taking up any extra space on your countertop. That! If I want to grate a large amount of food, like a few cabbages for making sauerkraut or kimchi, I would still use a food processor, but for 99% of what I need, this hand grater is so much easier to use! I'd rather grate a 2lb block of cheese with it than break down the food processor, swap out the blade for a grating disc, and then replace the bowl, lid, pusher, and grating disc on the food processor (which also takes up a lot of dishwasher space). This thing is razor sharp and makes grating a lot easier than the old fashioned kind of grater because you don't have to use as much force. I don't have the strength I used to have, so I'm grateful for that. You might want to use a cut-resistant glove to grate, or at least be very careful, especially if you're used to using an old grater. I've ground up sharp cheddar, softer Munster and Colby and it does an excellent job of making long chunks. Soft cheeses are best placed in the freezer for a few minutes before shredding, but I've never had any problems. Cleaning with a dish sponge or brush is easy if done shortly after use. Simply clean and dry the rasp holes "on the grain" and not against it, otherwise you will crumble the sponge or kitchen towel. I don't put mine in the dishwasher because I don't put my expensive knives in there either. It would be nice to do this once in a while, but I still don't as the heat and cleaning chemistry aren't great for sharp blades. It's a lot easier to clean than the graters I've had because I've always had a hard time reaching inside to give them a thorough clean. Love it! At some point I will probably buy more Microplane graters to be able to choose between different degrees of grinding. Professional chefs use this style and brand for a VERY good reason!