Product Description

Ideal for grating citrus zest, hard cheese, nuts, ginger & garlic

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3367 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: Microplane
• Model: 35002
• Dimensions: .25" h x 2.00" w x 8.00" l, .50 pounds

Features

• Recommended for puréeing garlic, onion, and ginger
• Stainless-steel surface, plastic handle
• Razor-sharp cutters
• Dishwasher-safe
• Made in USA

Amazon.com Review
For finely minced garlic or ginger this is the perfect grater. The cutters are especially sharp, which guarantees easy grating. But this also means you'll need to exercise extra caution--no one likes grated knuckles. For ease in resting the grater on the counter while in use, there's a hard acrylic frame around the metal. The frame also prevents scratches to your countertop. The large handle allows for a firm grip, and the slightly curved grating surface makes it easy to use with oddly shaped chunks of ginger or garlic cloves. It's also an excellent choice for microshreds of citrus zest. --Jill Lightner

Customer Reviews

wonderful for garlic or ginger puree
This grater really produces a puree, rather than a fine grate, of garlic or ginger - but that's actually preferable because it's far less likely to burn if you're planning to throw either into oil in an early phase of cooking, as is common in Indian, Middle Eastern, or Italian cuisine; and if you hold a peeled garlic clove with your fingernails (I have short ones and it works fine - just be careful at the end to avoid trimming your fingernails), you can get almost all of the garlic pureed very quickly, and throw away only a very thin skin from the back edge of the clove. It is so much easier than cleaning a garlic press or mincing by hand, and it is rare that a hand mince provides any benefit over a fresh puree. A garlic press can't compete on any level and I haven't touched one since I bought this tool about six months ago.

As with the coarse grater, though, I don't think it's particularly good for citrus zest, which tends to clog - maybe it's the curve in the surface, as the size of the holes is about the same as on the citrus grater. With all 3 graters, I tend to end up with more than I planned to use because I still can't get over how easy it is. They are more specialized than I initially hoped, but once you buy one you'll probably decide you want the others, too - they really are that good.

As with the coarse grater, this is also much easier to clean than an old-fashioned grater, because the sharp edges all run in one direction - just scrub against the grain and everything will come off very quickly without tearing up whatever you're using to clean.

I know I sound like a publicist for these tools, but even my mother, who has few kitchen tools she didn't buy 20-40 years ago, far prefers all of the Microplanes to the graters she used to use - they just really are far better than what used to be out there.

Best Grater You Will EVER Own
No kitchen--from the cramped apartment "aisle" kitchenettes to those of professional catering establishments and restaurants--should be without this wonderful implement.

Zesting fruit has never been so simple! Traditional zesters produce only limited quantities of fruity zest, scraping small bits of the rind away and leaving the cook with cramped fingers and often squashed, messy fruit. The Microplane simply zips across the rinds of oranges, lemons, limes, etc. without bruising the fruit or cutting away the bitter white pith beneath.

Cheeses are a snap as well, particularly if you like a finer shredding than you get with most traditional graters. Parmesan never tasted so good!

Additional uses include grating ginger and making fine chocolate shavings (make sure to keep the chocolate cold before grating to avoid breaking or melting it, though). I have yet to attempt making fine ice shavings or grating nutmeg or other hard spices yet, but likely the Microplane will tackle such tasks just as easily as it does zesting fruits and shredding cheese.

One of the chief benefits of this particular Microplane over some of their other models is that you can purchase a little guard that holds your cheese, nuts, or whatever against the grater and thus save your knuckles. I highly recommend purchasing that accessory should you come across it, as it only adds to the excellence of this wonderful kitchen tool.

Once you've tried a Microplane zester, you'll wonder how you ever got along without one.

The best tool in my kitchen
The Microplane grater is a shining example of the better mousetrap. There isn't a kitchen in the USA without some kind of grater, yet Microplane's products are selling like hotcakes. Why? They built the better mousetrap. This grater is easier to handle than anything I've used. It's sharper, holds an edge longer and just plain grates better than any grater ever made. Is it worth the price? You bet! (Just watch your fingers--this baby is REALLY sharp!)