People don’t always know how to use a box grater properly. You could get hurt if you cut something hard like wood or metal. The good news? There is a way to make these cuts without wearing out your blade. It is easy with some simple techniques with your hands!
Have you ever wanted to grate your cheese without a hassle? With this helpful device, it becomes easy, how to use a box grater.
A box grater is an essential kitchen tool that can help make life in the kitchen much easier. These useful tools are perfect for finely shredding food like carrots or potatoes and thin-julienning vegetables such as zucchini or cucumbers into noodle shapes. It doesn’t stop there, though: these handy devices also allow people to create crumbles of cabbage leaves and purée fruit with ease by using one-half of its surface at any time.
The Table Of Contents
What is a box grater?
A box grater is a kitchen tool. It has many sides, each with a different texture or shape that you can use to grate your desired ingredient for cooking. This type of grater is like five tools combined into one: the flat-bladed slicer, medium-fine shredder, coarse shredder, wavy scraper, and ribbon blade. We designed the knife so that it is good for slicing up finely shredded food. It has a blade that can cut through bigger slices of food, too. There are four different types of box graters –
Coarse (French, old-fashioned American), used for Parmesan cheese and tomato sauce.
Medium (regular, newer American) for dry things like chocolate chip cookies or gingerbread cookie dough.
Fine (Turkish), used for products like zucchini or carrots.
Extra-fine (Japanese silk, ultrafine French), the most delicate and sharpest blade. These are typically used in Western cuisine when you want to make chocolate curls or finely grate garlic.
How to use a box grater?
This article will explain how to utilize a box grater properly. Gather the food that is ready to be grated and put it in front of you.
First, make sure that the right-hand side of the handle points away from you. This way, when food becomes stuck in the grater, it won’t hit your hands. And use two hands when cranking the handle–one on top and one on the bottom.
Next, put some cheese or other food that you can break up into small pieces. Then do it!
If you want to grate food, you need lots of space. You can put it on a cutting board, but it is best not to use one too deep because then the food will fall off. You should also make sure that your grater matches up with your hand. Then press down and move from left to right while holding the handle tightly, but don’t apply too much force yet as some areas might be harder than others.
- Grate food by holding the grater in one hand and using your other hand to turn it.
- Hold the fabric of clothes in a way where they do not get caught on the grater, and then grate away at food items like cheese or vegetables.
- Place fabric over the top of places on the grater where you will need to catch shredded food when preparing it for cooking, like cheese or vegetables.
- Press down with your fingers while turning them around so that you can grate whatever object you are grinding or mashing with this tool.
Preventive tips
“DOs”
- Use a grater on any surface, such as a dinner table or cutting board. Just make sure that your fingers are out of the way when grating.
- When you grate food, move back and forth across the surface to create minced pieces. Once you’re done with this, try sweeping across surfaces to get thinner slices.
- If you want a finer texture, turn over and work from the other side of the grater- this will result in very thin shreds. Experiment with different teeth spacing for more or less sharpness.
- After each use, wash thoroughly with delicate dish soap (not too much).
“DON’Ts”
- Be careful not to use too much force. We should always start by being gentle with the food to cooperate with us instead of fighting against us.
- If there is some food stuck on that you cannot get off, you can lightly brush or tap it off- leave this for someone else who has more dishes to wash!
- Cut one direction at a time (left and right) if possible, but if you have to go back and forth across a dish or vegetable, be sure not to cut an area again- it will be too thin and break easily.
What are the benefits of a box grater?
Using a box grater is an easy way to prepare and serve things like potatoes, peppers, apples, or oranges. They are great for small jobs where the food does not need to be finely minced. They are also useful for when there is a big job- in larger quantities when removing vegetable skins- and they work well on softer foods that would otherwise get caught in other types of graters. You can use this grater side to grate butter or chocolate. It isn’t easy to do that on a regular grater.
It’s usually very simple to clean after use, and it stands up securely on its base while still fitting comfortably inside an average kitchen drawer!
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 1: What is the proper way to use a cheese grater?
Answer 1: The proper way to use a cheese grater is as follows – Lay the cheese out flat on its largest surface. Hold firmly and carve away while keeping your hand relaxed. Concentrate on grating the closest surface, not the back. Use salt to taste! (optional but makes it irresistible!)
Question 2: How to use an electric box grater?
Answer 2: With one hand, grasp the grip of the grater’s top and press your thumb firmly against the other side. Place a vegetable or cheese piece on the grater’s sharp edges and slowly move upward, capturing all bits in the grate. While sliding, you want to apply firm pressure to ensure that everything adheres evenly to create a lovely, even grate. Size and shape are irrelevant! As long as they fit inside without protruding from either end, you’re fine to go! To remove food that has previously been grated, curve both hands around one side of the fruit or cheese and delicately pull whatever remains inside toward you.