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Box and Other Hand-held Graters

Paul Bacino

By Paul Bacino
in Kitchen Consumer

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

Tonight I tested the Cuisipro for parmesan and for lemon zest.  It did well with both.  It is a frightening device to behold.  Reminds me of a falling knife.  My old Swedish box grater does as well with parmesan but it takes much longer and is difficult to clean.  The Swedish grater is useless for lemon zest.  I have a German zester that does well but again the Cuisipro is faster.  The zests produced by each are a bit different but both work.  The German zester produces zest that is more like small flecks.

 

I still have all my fingers.

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

  • 1 year later...
JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

By way of an update, I've been grating my Parmesan by hand.  I confess I never once tried the new Cuisinart grating disc I bought.  The Cuisinart still works but the spindle appears cracked and I don't want to put unneeded stress on the part.

 

Last week when I grated some Parmesan I became frustrated with the aptly named hand grater.  For a long time I've been wanting the grating attachment for my Ankarsrum.  Because of the pandemic Ankarsrum parts have been almost impossible to find.  The US distributor has a page of anticipated restocking times, looking at next summer for some and no idea when for others.

 

To make a long story short, I couldn't buy just the attachments I wanted.  Pleasant Hill Grain had stock of an expensive combination set that includes the grater as well as a blender and a citrus juicer.  I already have a Blendtec and two citrus juicers but I suppose redundancy is always good.  I also had my eye on the Ankarsrum shredder/slicer set that should be good for vegetables and softer cheese.  Pleasant Hill did not have stock of the shredder/slicer, however I found them at Everything Kitchens, which is where I bought my Blendtec.

 

Pleasant Hill is experiencing virus related shipping delays, but the shredder/slicer should be here next week.  For anyone thinking about Ankarsrum attachments now might be a good time to order.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted

I've been using my large box grater for parmesan and pecorino lately. I've used a small microplane, the French moulinex grater disc, etc. etc. The box grater (a good, sharp one) works better and is basically faster than any of the others. Certainly it's not like I'm grating pounds of this stuff at a time.

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, weinoo said:

I've been using my large box grater for parmesan and pecorino lately. I've used a small microplane, the French moulinex grater disc, etc. etc. The box grater (a good, sharp one) works better and is basically faster than any of the others. Certainly it's not like I'm grating pounds of this stuff at a time.

 

As much as I love my Cuisipro box grater, grating Parmesan is getting too hard for me.  Granted that if I use an appliance I will have to figure out a way to break off a piece to grate.  Maybe a use for my Parmesan knife!

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

AAQuesada

AAQuesada

Posted
Posted

i do want to say it's pretty common in restaurants doing a lot of pasta to get good parm and pulverize it in the food processor rather than buy cheap bagged parm. It's used when finishing the pasta in the pan. Then microplane or whatnot for on top. 

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, AAQuesada said:

i do want to say it's pretty common in restaurants doing a lot of pasta to get good parm and pulverize it in the food processor rather than buy cheap bagged parm. It's used when finishing the pasta in the pan. Then microplane or whatnot for on top. 

 

Though I doubt most establishments are pulverizing the 105 euro per kilo stuff that I am using.

 

  • Like 1

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

AAQuesada

AAQuesada

Posted
Posted

True dat! The point is to emulsify it into the sauce so you would use something younger saving the food stuff for other things. But really the point of my comment is that there is nothing wrong with using a food processor for parmesan just that different tools for different outcomes 

 

  • Like 1
weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Though I doubt most establishments are pulverizing the 105 euro per kilo stuff that I am using.

 

 

And when I feel comfortable shopping in person again - there are times of the year when DiPalo's has a number of different parmesan cheeses - spring milk, fall milk, etc. - it's fun tasting them side by side.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Though I doubt most establishments are pulverizing the 105 euro per kilo stuff that I am using.

 

Have you tried t he costco parm?

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

This establishment might be - where do you source yours?

 

parmashop.it

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, gfweb said:

I use one of these. Does small volumes quickly and safely.  The rare occasion that I need a cup or so of parm, it'll do that in under a minute. Cleanup is quick.

https://smile.amazon.com/Zyliss-11375-ZYLISS-Rotary-Cheese/dp/B00421ATHM/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=zyliss+grater&qid=1611498165&sr=8-3

That style of grater has been around forEVER. I'm sure you can find one for a better price than that somewhere!

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, gfweb said:

Have you tried t he costco parm?

 

No Costco within walking distance.  Nearest one I know of is about 45 minutes away by car.  Is their Parmesan particularly easy to grate?

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

No Costco within walking distance.  Nearest one I know of is about 45 minutes away by car.  Is their Parmesan particularly easy to grate?

 

 

29 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

No Costco within walking distance.  Nearest one I know of is about 45 minutes away by car.  Is their Parmesan particularly easy to grate?

 

easy in my zyliss

Margaret Pilgrim

Margaret Pilgrim

Posted
Posted

I rely on this hand-cranked model I bought at a PA flea market for $4.    Comes apart for washing easily.   Husband milled the wooden plunger.   Grandkids vie for time at the wheel...altho they tend to snag a sizable proportion of product while "helping out". 

IMG_0774.thumb.jpg.62937b5104fb619304aba43942d3993f.jpg

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eGullet member #80.

liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

That style of grater has been around forEVER.

 

Indeed! I had one when I was a student and that was when the idea a man on the moon was just a ridiculous fantasy.

 

I found it quite impractical and It never managed to grate the last part.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

"No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot"
Mark Twain
 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Though I doubt most establishments are pulverizing the 105 euro per kilo stuff that I am using.

 

 

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

parmashop.it

 

 

59 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Forgive me, I realize I already had an earlier thread about grating Parmesan...

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/154311-portioning-parmesan/

 

ParmesanFront01162017.png.2b6abd2f9f60eb

 

 

They charge €105/kilo for that one?

palo

palo

Posted
Posted
27 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

I found it quite impractical and It never managed to grate the last part.

Soup! - That's why it's left. 😝

 

p

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

 

 

They charge €105/kilo for that one?

 

No... but I work part time in a library, Vacche Rosse is what I buy more often.

 

  • Thanks 1

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

palo

palo

Posted
Posted
58 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

No... but I work part time in a library, Vacche Rosse is what I buy more often.

 

Reminds me of the Holiday Inn commercials of a few years ago "...but I stayed in a Holiday Inn last night..."

Katie Meadow

Katie Meadow

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, weinoo said:

I think that Zyliss style was originally made by the same company that makes the classic Mouli Julienne I own. I have one that barely works any more...

 

image.png.1d5df1428eabfb167630bcb6523f7d4b.png

Oh, that's a very nice antique. Mine was also just flimsy metal and wood, maybe a little bit newer. Probably purchased at a flea market a million years ago. Even when it worked it didn't work very well. I rarely need more grated hard cheese than two people require for a flurry on pasta, so I'm happy with my old knuckle-challenged box grater. When the wedge of cheese gets dangerously small I just toss the rind in the soup pot or wherever. Actually I don't believe I ever hurt myself grating hard cheese. Before I owned a processor there was always the fear of pink latkes.

  • Delicious 1
heidih

heidih

Posted
Posted
55 minutes ago, weinoo said:

I think that Zyliss style was originally made by the same company that makes the classic Mouli Julienne I own. I have one that barely works any more...

 

image.png.1d5df1428eabfb167630bcb6523f7d4b.png

Gold in your pocket at a vintage flea market like this https://www.longbeachantiquemarket.com/  Functionality not at issue.

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