There are many tools that we may have used for years but we didn’t use them to their full potential. Believe it or not, this includes the simple cheese grater.
In almost every kitchen around the world, you will find a tool that is called a cheese grater. For generations, people have used this simple tool to turn cheese into shreds or slices.
It’s a simple tool that everyone knows how to use, but there are many who may not fully appreciate just how complex the tool is. Sure, it’s a great kitchen gadget. But each side is designed for its own purpose.
Most people are familiar with how to use a cheese grater on a very basic level. If you use the larger holes, you can shred cheese for items such as salads, pizzas, and tacos. The medium holes can be used for shredding finer cheese, like Parmesan or you can use it to shred vegetables.
There is also typically a slicing side, which can be used to create uniform slices of vegetables and cheese. It’s great to make a nice-looking meal.
The tiny holes that are found on the fourth side of the cheese grater, however, are not often used. In fact, many people don’t realize what they are used for so they simply ignore them.
Those tiny holes are designed to create a powder out of a hard cheese, such as Parmesan or Romano cheese. This can be used on top of many different dishes as a finishing touch, including salads and different types of pasta.
The cheese grater has changed over the years but one of the most popular has always been the box grater. Since there is a fourth side that includes the tiny holes, you can see how it was, at one time, used for that very specific task.
Aside from grating hard cheese, you could also zest citrus fruits or grate nutmeg with small holes as well. Some people even like to dust chocolate to use for dessert or perhaps over whipped cream in a cup of iced coffee.
If you have overlooked the fourth side of the cheese grater, don’t feel bad. Many people tend to misunderstand the purpose and there are not typically detailed instructions that come with the cheese grater. You might even see them as impractical until you know why it is so useful.
In the end, it’s good to understand how to use these various tools in the kitchen. You might just find that it enhances your ability to feed yourself and your family in a beautiful way.