Microplane Graters

[cakewalk]

I have three, and I think they're one of the greatest inventions since the wheel. I also have a box grater, and I sometimes use that when I want things more coarsely grated. But lemon rind on a box grater? Even the fine holes? It tears the entire lemon apart. Try a microplane, you'll never go back. I usually grind a lot of ginger at one time in the food processor, put it in a ziplock bag and press it flat, then freeze it. Break off bits of ginger as you need it, works great. But wait -- a food processor? Why use a food processor when I can use a box grater?

[heidih]

I have never had one. For ginger I use this multipurpose guy from the Japanese 98cent store. The fixed blade does thin slices of cucumber, daikon and the like. I use a lot of citrus zest in my cooking but remove with a swivel peeler and generally pound with the salt in the mortar and pestle or slice finely. 

 

For those calling them indispensable - what is regular use?  When I hear microplane I think of the rasp looking tool  Shel links in post #1 . The rest seem more like a hand held paddle grater versus box grater. 

 

 

 

[rotuts]

"""  rasp looking tool """

 

they were originally indeed rasps and woodworking tools

[Lisa Shock]

I have several types, I like them. I also got the food guard/pusher attachment to speed things up and keep bits of finger out of my food.

 

That said, I still use an old style fine grater on a handle for Parmesan cheese to get a superfine snow-like texture for making pasta al burro e parmigiano,  aka the real original Alfredo sauce.

 

For potatoes, I use a grater on a handle that is extra sharp and grates in both directions.

 

I like graters on handles and always hated the box grater. When I went out on my own in my 20s, I made a point to buy graters on handles.

[Kerry Beal]

Got my first Microplane from Lee Valley - the hubby gave it to me for Christmas - it was a rasp for woodworking but he had been told that some people were using them in the kitchen.  I have collected a number of others over the years with different sized and shaped rasps - each has a different thing that it does well.  Don't recall ever paying a lot for them - got most from clearance places like Winners and Homesense.  I got a free one for doing my feet at the Toronto Gift Show.  It's one of my favourites!

 

I also have a couple of nice box graters - work better for other things.  Don't care for grating cheddar cheese with a microplane.  

 

I like a Zyliss rotary grater with the big blade for hard cheeses like parmesan.  

 

Proud to be one of the "inn" crowd!

[scubadoo97]

I have three, and I think they're one of the greatest inventions since the wheel. I also have a box grater, and I sometimes use that when I want things more coarsely grated. But lemon rind on a box grater? Even the fine holes? It tears the entire lemon apart. Try a microplane, you'll never go back. I usually grind a lot of ginger at one time in the food processor, put it in a ziplock bag and press it flat, then freeze it. Break off bits of ginger as you need it, works great. But wait -- a food processor? Why use a food processor when I can use a box grater?

I use my microplane quite a bit for zesting citrus. Does a great job on garlic and ginger too. Hard cheese like Parmesan become fine and fluffy on the microplane. Great for adding parm to a salad dressing or a topping dishes.

[Ashen]

Microplanes are very fun and useful gadgets but a sharp knife and a mortar and pestle  can do most of what they do  equally as well.  The knife work can take a bit more skill though.  the only thing I would really  miss if I couldn't have one, is the fluffy mounds of parm a zester micro can produce. 

[quiet1]

I have a single microplane (the citrus zester fine one) and a regular box grater. I mostly went to the microplane for fine stuff because it takes much less physical effort on my part, ime, to grate stuff on the microplane, which keeps the arthritis in my wrists a bit happier.

Recently I also obtained the long term loan of a food processor with a shredding disc, so the box grater is getting even less use. Still, there are some things where you want the texture you get from one method over another. Potato pancakes, for example, I must make by grating with a box grater or else they don't turn out with the "right" texture - presumably because I'm expecting something like my grandmother used to make, and she only had a box grater.

[Bill Klapp]

There is no better grater for hard cheeses like parmigiano. That the Microplane is made in Arizona but found all over Italy and the rest of Europe at significantly higher pricing than found in the U.S., despite the weak dollar, must be chalked up to quality and utility, not marketing. And Shel, here's hoping that you get that TV soon. It can provide welcome relief from the Internet for you!

P.S. I have three also, but in fairness, two are the same model with different-colored handles...

[rotuts]

I have more than three.  all gotten on sale.  they change models from time to time like cars, so the last model is on sale.

 

this one :

 

 

makes incredibly 'fluffy' parmesan grated cheese.

 

I also got my first 'rasp' from Lee Valley in CAN,  a fine woodworking and tool firm in Canada

 

i got many tools from them that were unique

 

it was so long ago everything from Canada was 20 % 'off' to the USA

 

then after years and years they added a store just S. of the border in upstate NY

 

clever they were

 

[MelissaH]

What hasn't yet been mentioned about a microplane is that with the very fine, fluffy shreds of cheese, I find that I don't need as much. I get a much more even distribution of the shredded cheese, more even than with a rotary grater, so that a little bit of cheese goes a very long way. Both my pocketbook and my waistline appreciate this.

[andiesenji]

Here is a photo of all (I think) of my microplane graters  and my large box grater (made in Santa Barbara, CA),

a "safety" wire grater that is used only for softer cheeses,

in the lower left there is a large ginger grater made of glass that I inherited from my grandmother - there is a well around the central raised portion which makes it much easier and more efficient to use than the little ones commonly found in Asian stores.

There is a rotary nutmeg grater and the little red-handled extra-fine grater is for cinnamon sticks. 

 

The fine grater with the white plastic handle and catch chamber is for Sap Sago (Schabziger) cheese and I got it free when I bought a cone of the cheese many years ago - it is made in Switzerland. 

 

Also a closeup photo of the ginger grater.  I do have a little microplane ginger grater but it is not very efficient and it stuck in a drawer somewhere.  I think I used it once.

 

The two microplanes on the left came with a "carrier" for using them safely without damage to the fingers.  The "double" one has a sliding plastic cover so one can use either end as a "handle" without damage to the hands. 

 

[rotuts]

thank you  

andiesenji

 

for the above pics.  the MP in the top pic, third from the L, hasnt been seen here for some time.  I hunted it down and will use it tonight !  it was hiding in a drawer when it was supposed to be next to its friends.

 

the 4th L to R  top pic has an interesting pattern on the top 1/2  you grate L to R on that or up and down ?

 

Ive never seen that pattern.  have to hunt one down.

[FauxPas]

Here is an interesting article on the transition of the Microplane from woodworking to kitchen and beyond:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/dining/12united.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[rotuts]

Nice article FP, thanks

 

in looking over my collection, the picture above  ( post # 35 ) is not a microplane

 

its an Accutec ® from Cuisipro.

[andiesenji]

thank you  

andiesenji

 

for the above pics.  the MP in the top pic, third from the L, hasnt been seen here for some time.  I hunted it down and will use it tonight !  it was hiding in a drawer when it was supposed to be next to its friends.

 

the 4th L to R  top pic has an interesting pattern on the top 1/2  you grate L to R on that or up and down ?

 

Ive never seen that pattern.  have to hunt one down.

That one is the Cuisipro Dual Grater

It's okay but a bit awkward to use as sometimes the plastic sleeve slips when grating something with more resistance, such as fresh coconut.

 

 

P.S.  I just remembered that I have a long tubular one somewhere around.  I did a cursory look but couldn't find it but I have so much kitchen junk that it may have been shuffled in with some other little used items.  It was a gift and frankly I never found a use for it. One would have to use a cut-proof glove if holding anything - it was listed as a spice grater but originally a round wood rasp, for which it would be appropriate.

Edited July 20, 2014 by andiesenji (log)

[SobaAddict70]

I don't use one because I neither NEED one nor WANT one.

I use a vegetable peeler whenever I need citrus zest, then I perform a chiffonade cut.

[andiesenji]

Nice article FP, thanks

 

in looking over my collection, the picture above  ( post # 35 ) is not a microplane

 

its an Accutec ® from Cuisipro.

Technically you are 100% correct.  We just use the generic term "Microplane" to refer to all utensils that are made with the photo-etching process.

Cuisipro took the original idea and ran with it, producing a wide range of graters, slicers and with safety accessories. 

 

I believe the process of manufacturing is much the same:  Accutec is the patent name filed by Cuisipro and they were sued:

 

"In 2002, Grace Manufacturing Inc filed a lawsuit against Browne and Co. Ltd. among others, alleging that the Cuisipro "Accutec" line of etched graters infringed on Microplane patents, and that Browne and Co. practices with regard to the Acutec brand represented unfair competition. Grace further made public statements at that time, intended to create distance between their graters and the Acutec line of products, particularly from the historical context associated with Microplane (for example, stating that only Microplane products had a history in woodworking use(such as crafting skills to make historical replicas of atlatl), and that Acutec was not to be considered a next-generation design). However, after several years of litigation process, the suit ultimately led to a mutual settlement (May/June 2005 with details being filed as confidential), which allows Grace to continue with their patented process and Browne with their process (which is patent pending). Both versions are being widely distributed around the world today."

[andiesenji]

Here's a closeup scan of the Dual grater.

 

[rotuts]

i consider myself lucky BB&B doesnt carry Cuisipro any more, if they ever did.

[MelissaH]

I don't use one because I neither NEED one nor WANT one.

I use a vegetable peeler whenever I need citrus zest, then I perform a chiffonade cut.

I find that microplaned zest and chiffonade zest are different. I'll do the chiffonade if I specifically want pieces that I can strain out relatively easily, but most of the time I like the small fluffy pieces I get from the microplane because they seem to do a better job of making the oils available.

 

Then again, I'm not in a small NYC apartment kitchen, and I'm usually pressed more for time than for space.

[rotuts]

exactly.  that's the difference

 

" Fluffy "

[Kerry Beal]

 

A few of the grater type objects we have here with us up north.  Only one microplane like (cuispro like Andie's).

 

Not mentioning the grater blades for the old cuisinart.

 

 

[SobaAddict70]

I find that microplaned zest and chiffonade zest are different. I'll do the chiffonade if I specifically want pieces that I can strain out relatively easily, but most of the time I like the small fluffy pieces I get from the microplane because they seem to do a better job of making the oils available.

 

Then again, I'm not in a small NYC apartment kitchen, and I'm usually pressed more for time than for space.

I'm not disputing that they are.

The question was asked whether one uses or doesn't use a microplane grater, and if one doesn't, why.

For my purposes, my substitution works just fine and it's not a universal.

[Lisa Shock]

I should mention that I also own the Microplane nutmeg grater. I really like it. It holds several nuts and any extra grated bits.