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Recommendation for Farmstyle Shreds Grater?


yekasi4

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Hi all, recently have this obsession with "Farmstyle shreds" of cheese. They are just the right size for melting quickly, and getting a good hearty piece of cheese. 

 

I'm looking for a grater that will allow me to replicate this at home. Does anyone know if there is a "size" associated with this? Or if I measure one of the pieces' width I can back calculate roughly how wide the grater hole has to be? Ideally a paddle grater.

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Sargento has similar - "Off the Block" is their catch phrase.

the 'big hole' on a box or paddle grater will work - with a big IF . . .

 

to get the length of the big shred, you have to have a long section of a cheese block "engaged" with the blade -

that requires more force to push along the blade than most can manage while also holding the "grater & the bowl & the . . . "

 

powered or manual crank styles ease the 'more force' issue - just make sure the feed chute lengthxwidth will take a cheese chunk big enough to produce the long 'strips'

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Thanks all for the replies! I don’t have a box grater (and don’t like that I can’t store it flat like the paddle), but if it’s the only option, I’ll cave. 
 

it’s silly to say but some of the other shredded cheese brands don’t make them as thick enough! I’ll have to buy more cheese (wop wop) and do a side by side at home for comparison and share my results!

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19 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

There's a big selection of both Rapid and Wonder flat graters on eBay. Lots of variety. 

Some of them look as if one should be sure of updated tetanus vaccine before using.

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Another key word is coarse grater. I have a heavy duty set of three. Fine, medium and coarse. This is called a flat grater. The other is a paddle grater, (with a handle)

This seems a bit pricy but judging by the positive reviews it is similar to my set of three. Mine were a gift from my Mother purchased in 1985. They will outlive me ten fold. 

Mine are similar 12 inches. The fine one I use for ginger. Brand is Kuthcenprof. No longer made as far as I could find. 

I was traveling with my parents through Italy, Germany, France. She is painfully shy and not comfortable with languages. Especially currency exchanges. Very frugal but likes to shop/just look. We started fibbing the exchange rates so she might buy herself a travel gift. I probably told her they were 5 bucks and a nice French soufflé ceramic. Thrilled she bought herself something finally but gifted all to me the following Christmas. She does not cook, bake, or grate, lol.

We use them all-the-time. Nice memories.

We would dine sit-down every few days. Mostly grazing markets and street food. She would never order in a restaurant saying not hungry but then pick off Dads plate. Until we started fibbing about the cost. 

 

 

Screenshot 2023-12-21 at 9.26.12 AM.png

IMG_7753.jpeg

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there are different types of grates.

 

nor just in size

 

but sharpness of the metal edges.

 

Micopane 

 

https://www.microplane.com

 

is a style , that is almost razor-sharp.

 

CuisiPro

 

https://www.cuisiprousa.com/collections/customer-top-picks/products/cuisipro-silver-stainless-steel-4-sided-box-grater-9-5-746850

 

uses this same technology for many of their items.

 

make sure you understand the difference between this style

 

and your GrandMa's stamped graters.

 

you can injure your knuckles w the microphone style

 

in a serious manner if not careful.

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7 hours ago, rotuts said:

there are different types of grates.

 

nor just in size

 

but sharpness of the metal edges.

 

Micopane 

 

https://www.microplane.com

 

is a style , that is almost razor-sharp.

 

CuisiPro

 

https://www.cuisiprousa.com/collections/customer-top-picks/products/cuisipro-silver-stainless-steel-4-sided-box-grater-9-5-746850

 

uses this same technology for many of their items.

 

make sure you understand the difference between this style

 

and your GrandMa's stamped graters.

 

you can injure your knuckles w the microphone style

 

in a serious manner if not careful.

 

I used my CuisiPro less than an hour ago.  I recommend it highly.

 

(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

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Beyond the Cuisipro 746165 referenced by @Annie_H above, I found another 'extra coarse' grater:

 

Dalstrong Professional Wide Cheese Grater - Extra Coarse - #304 Stainless Steel Blade - G10 Handle Kitchen Shredder - w/Blade Guard  (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

It's an even higher price point than the Cuisipro, but I think the holes are a bit deeper.

 

On the manufacturer's site,there is a video that shows the grater being used. If you look at the apple pieces, you'll see that they're in the direction of the tilamook.   The mozzarella doesn't appear quite as chunky, but I think that might come down to the pressure applied, along with the fact that mozzarella is harder to grate than cheddar.

 

Depending on your budget, and how painful it would be to flush $30-$50 down the drain by bricking either the Cuisipro or the Dalstrong, you might be able to take a punch and flare the holes a tiny bit more.

 

This might be large enough, although it could require something larger

 

Stainless steel really isn't pliable, but, you might be able to buy yourself 1/32" of extra space.  Or you could end up cracking it. In theory, you could practice on a $10 grater, although the material won't be identical, so it won't be apples to apples.

 

Whatever punch you put in the hole, you won't want to pull it away to increase the angle, like the DIYer does here, but rather you want to lightly hammer the punch into the hole and let the tapered neck of the punch increase the flare.  This will keep the wall above the hole flatter.

 

One other option might be a chitarra.  Traditionally, they're used for pasta, but you can use them for cheese as well.  If you're handy, you can make your own and arrange the wires to exactly the right size opening that you're looking for.  Being wood, though, these are difficult to clean.

 

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I have probably all  the Microplane graters 

 

that have been around for years.

 

initial ones were for woodworking , from Canada  (  ? Lee Valley _

 

then they found a much larger use in the kitchen , and pleasantly multiplied

 

be very very careful w them if new to this style

 

the extra coarse garter does a fine job on cheese , and a similar job on your knuckles.

 

I have personal experience and hope you don't.

Edited by rotuts (log)
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