Box and Other Hand-held Graters

[Dave the Cook]

To follow up: I found a Mouli on eBay and snapped it up. I have to admit that it does a bang-up job of grating. And it came in the sprightly orange, which, as everyone knows, has sharper discs than the beige version 😉.

 

 

It folds up pretty flat and stores comfortably. However, it's unwieldy for a quick shaving of parm, which was what we used the handheld grater for. So the Mouli will actually replace our box grater. To replace the handheld, we first tried the one lots of people (well, ATK and Wirecutter) rave about, the Rosle steel grater with wire handle (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). I didn't pay enough attention to the fact that it's nearly 16 inches long, which is just too damn big. In the end, we followed @lindag's advice and just got another Oxo. She's right, it's much sturdier than its predecessor --

 

 

--and comes in a color to match our new Mouli.

[weinoo]

28 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

And it came in the sprightly orange, which, as everyone knows, has sharper discs than the beige version

 

If you like a French carrot salad or celeri remoulade, it's fabulous for those as well.

[Smithy]

On 4/12/2022 at 4:22 PM, Dave the Cook said:

To follow up: I found a Mouli on eBay and snapped it up. I have to admit that it does a bang-up job of grating. And it came in the sprightly orange, which, as everyone knows, has sharper discs than the beige version 😉.

 

 

It folds up pretty flat and stores comfortably. However, it's unwieldy for a quick shaving of parm, which was what we used the handheld grater for. So the Mouli will actually replace our box grater. To replace the handheld, we first tried the one lots of people (well, ATK and Wirecutter) rave about, the Rosle steel grater with wire handle (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). I didn't pay enough attention to the fact that it's nearly 16 inches long, which is just too damn big. In the end, we followed @lindag's advice and just got another Oxo. She's right, it's much sturdier than its predecessor --

 

 

--and comes in a color to match our new Mouli.

 

Damn, Dave, you may start a run on these things. I see on eBay that the prices are all over the map. Did you get a sense of whether most still have good blades? Does a potential purchaser need to worry about dull blades on some of these previously-owned Moulis?

[Dave the Cook]

Dull blades was my primary concern. But I only paid $18, so it wasn't a huge risk.

 

To be honest, if not for the recommendation of people here (whose opinions I trust), and a dim positive-feeling recollection of the Mouli name, I would have dismissed it as a useless gadget. That's because--let's be truthful--it has a very gadget-like look to it. Because of that, I'm guessing most of these have spent the better part of their lives unused, hidden in the back of a drawer.

[Smithy]

2 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

Dull blades was my primary concern. But I only paid $18, so it wasn't a huge risk.

 

To be honest, if not for the recommendation of people here (whose opinions I trust), and a dim positive-feeling recollection of the Mouli name, I would have dismissed it as a useless gadget. That's because--let's be truthful--it has a very gadget-like look to it. Because of that, I'm guessing most of these have spent the better part of their lives unused, hidden in the back of a drawer.

 

The sad truth is that when we moved into our current house there was a blind corner in the kitchen cabinetry with something much like this that had fallen into the crevices and been left by the previous owners. I, er, didn't know what it was and threw it away. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My Mouli grater had rusted badly so I pitched it.  Possibly a mistake.  I'd worry about rust buying secondhand.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

12 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Damn, Dave, you may start a run on these things. I see on eBay that the prices are all over the map. Did you get a sense of whether most still have good blades? Does a potential purchaser need to worry about dull blades on some of these previously-owned Moulis?

 

If the disks look nice and shiny in the photos then I don't think you need to worry about them being dull.  A lot of them seem to be unused and in the original boxes. Make sure to get one with 5 disks so you get the fine one that Dave pictured above.  

I bought mine for my first undergrad apartment kitchen so it has been in regular use for decades.  Some of the disks are less than shiny but I don't have any issues with them being too dull to crank out tons of cheese or carrots.    

 

I will say that the older, all metal ones like my mom had have a much smaller space for loading veg or cheese.  One might think the all-metal construction would be sturdier than the plastic but the small hopper is a negative. 

 

The plastic type like I have came in orange (as Dave and I have), beige (like @weinoo got) and white  I believe they perform equally. 

There was a newer white plastic model with a less angular, more curved shape that I heard was a lot less stable.  I think it also had only 3 disks. I'd avoid that.  

 

 

[weinoo]

25 minutes ago, Dave the Cook said:

Because of that, I'm guessing most of these have spent the better part of their lives unused, hidden in the back of a drawer.

I don't know if that's true in France 😉 .

[Smithy]

*bump* I love the Moulinex that I bought as a result of this topic!

 

 

 

An interesting thing about it is that the cheese shreds come off in long strands if the chunk of cheese being grated is long. It doesn't work that way with my box grater, because of the back-and-forth motion of my hand.

[rotuts]

@Smithy 

 

very excellent find .

 

Id suggest this :

 

take your time w your hand motion .

 

slower is better .

 

enjoy !

[Shel_B]

Time for a hand-held grater, primarily for veggies such as onion, carrot, fennel, turnips, etc. A typical box grater is not workable, but a flat grater, such as this from OXO, (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) would be fine. also, this one from OXO:(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

Has anyone used either of these and can you speak to their suitibility and durability. Amazon reviews show an overall very good rating, but also enough negatives to make me cautious, but not completely dismissive.

 

Any other flat grater that you might recommend?

[blue_dolphin]

I have the Microplane professional series kitchen graters and have been very pleased with them.  I purchased them in 2011 to replace a less expensive Microplane set that had plastic parts that could crack and break off but the professional series is all metal. 
I have the fine, coarse, extra course and the shaver but the coarse and extra course would handle most needs. 
I can hold it in my hand, lean it on the cutting board or set it over a bowl.

Here’s the coarse one (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), which is actually pretty fine. 
 

 

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, Shel_B said:

Time for a hand-held grater, primarily for veggies such as onion, carrot, fennel, turnips, etc. A typical box grater is not workable, but a flat grater, such as this from OXO, (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) would be fine. also, this one from OXO:(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

Has anyone used either of these and can you speak to their suitibility and durability. Amazon reviews show an overall very good rating, but also enough negatives to make me cautious, but not completely dismissive.

 

Any other flat grater that you might recommend?

 

To answer your first paragraph's questions: I can't shed any light on either of those models. They claim to be able to come apart so you aren't committed to the V-shape, which I'd find quite annoying.

 

I personally use Microplanes like @blue_dolphin's, a box grater, or a Moulinex. I assume storage is the reason you want something flat. In that case, I'd go with either the Microplanes or an old-fashioned flat hand grater like this one (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) which would store quite easily. Friends of mine still use that style and I find it works well.

[paulraphael]

Microplanes, all day. In the past I had a few of the flat ones (rectangular grater with a handle). Mostly marketed for home use. When I wore those out I got one of the long skinny ones, because everyone I know who cooks professionally uses them. I think you can go with either. The main advantage of the long ones seems that they fit easily in a knife roll. The flatter ones are easier to use one some things. Their protective cover design annoys me. 

[Katie Meadow]

Personally I din't think anyone should have to choose. If you've had a box grater for a million years you know what it's good for and what it's not. I love my box grater and I love my microplane for the things my box grater can't do. The Moulinex is a pretty fun gadget too. Mine mysteriously disappeared years ago. 

[Shel_B]

11 hours ago, paulraphael said:

Microplanes, all day ...

I have several microplane graters, and they all work very well for their intended task. I am looking for something different, such as what I originally posted about or just a single, flat grater with large holes. The folding ones in the original post seem to be ideal as they have two graters with large holes on each. I'm close to pulling the trigger, but there are some other options I'm looking at. Thanks!

 

 

[Shel_B]

On 6/11/2025 at 12:30 PM, Smithy said:

old-fashioned flat hand grater like this one (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) which would store quite easily. Friends of mine still use that style and I find it works well.

That's unacceptable to me, although the form is fine. I don't want the fine grater and the julienne thing. Just large holes, as pictured in the links I posted.

 

I bought one that was highly rated by ATK a while back, and it was so dull that it couldnt even properly grate some cheddar cheese. Quite a few other had the same issue.

[weinoo]

9 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

The Moulinex is a pretty fun gadget too. Mine mysteriously disappeared years ago. 

 

I promise - it wasn't me...

 

 

 

 

ONe of the great inventions.  I first learned about it via one of David Lebovitz's recipes.

 

Edited June 21 by weinoo (log)

[rotuts]

@weinoo

 

I ' had ' one of those .  ' Had '  i.e. no idea where it is now.

 

Fine design , but needed a bit more weight to it.

 

an , of course would be very nice w upgraded blades from Microplane.

[Katie Meadow]

58 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

I promise - it wasn't me...

 

 

 

 

ONe of the great inventions.  I first learned about it via one of David Lebovitz's recipes.

 

Oh, so it WAS you! That looks exactly like mine!

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, rotuts said:

Fine design , but needed a bit more weight to it.

 

an , of course would be very nice w upgraded blades from Microplane.

 

A:  But then it would be a food processor. I have grated some fairly hard cheeses, and shredded both carrots and celeriac (two not exactly soft vegetables) quite easily.

 

B:  But then it would be a Microplane; I find the blades it comes with work just fine.

[blue_dolphin]

My Mouli-julienne was one of my first kitchen purchases for my college apartment.  I still have it, still use it regularly and it still works fine.  Quite a sturdy little thing.


My only repair has been to the plastic knob on the end of the crank which developed a hole that the crank poked through. I patched it up with a little Sugru. 

My mom had the all metal version with a wooden knob like this one:

[rotuts]

my mother also had the metal version .

 

in re thinking the one I used , I probably did not use it correctly .

 

I probably put too much downward pressure on the knob , missing the point that the work

 

was done in the horizontal  plane , not the vertical.

 

it was superseded by an early Cuisinart , which was a gift.

[weinoo]

Those all-metal versions were lovely, but I think they drastically improved the product with the addition of plastic and/or rubber on the feet to protect surfaces.

Edited June 21 by weinoo (log)

[Smithy]

@Shel_B, have you gotten a new grater yet? If so, which did you choose and how do you like it?