Microplane® Available across the USA, Canada and other countries.

		If you don't have one of these in your kitchen tool drawer well, then you're the only one who doesn't!  These rasps, originally wood working tools, morphed into the best kitchen tool for zesting, shredding and otherwise making some food prep work a whole lot easier for the home cook - not to mention professional cooks who also use them in their workplace kitchens.

In the years since these tools made their way into the hands of cooks in the early 90s, there have been many incarnations of the rasp with the addition of handles to grip the rasps more securely, plastic covers for safe storage as well as several different styles of the rasp such as this one for an extra coarse result.

Visit their website in the USA http://us.microplane.com for a look at their complete line.  In Canada - http://ca.microplane.com and for a list of other countries, go to their home page and click on "other countries" or go to http://microplaneintl.info and choose English, German or Italian language.

 

		One kitchen tool that I am positive can be found in most any kitchen, even kitchens where there may no longer be anyone cooking, is the standard box grater.  I  wish I had the one my mother had for who knows how many decades - it would be a kitchen antique by now!

Fast forward from the old days of box graters, to the present and Microplane® brings us the gold standard of box graters.  The two views show all three grating surfaces, plus the one slicing blade. The   Microplane® 4 sided Box Grater features the new Ultra Coarse blade and two of the most popular, Microplane® grating blades: Fine/Zester and Medium Ribbon, along with an additional fourth Slicer blade. The bulbous handle is very comfortable to hold steady as are the rubber footings resting on your counter top while you grate away.  The blades are made of surgical grade stainless steel. There is also a plastic cover for safe storage.		Ultra Coarse, Medium Ribbon, Slicer and Detachable Zester. Cover Included. Item Number: 34006  Retail Price: $34.95

I gave the box grater a good test run as shown in these photos:

Medium ribbon blade which shredded fresh ginger for stir frying	The slicer blade...well, for slicing.
Ultra Coarse for grated hard veggies like carrots for cole slaw	Fine zester - for airy light grated cheese - or  zesting citrus.  This one blade is removable to aid in clean up of the entire unit, as well as for using the fine zester on its own as shown in the following image:

Care & Cleaning

• Dishwasher safe.
• We recommend rinsing your grater in warm water immediately after each use. Remove particles stuck in the blade from the back side whenever possible. To remove "stuck on food" from the front, first soak the tool in warm water and then use a cleaning brush and stroke in the same direction as the teeth.
• Store with plastic cover on when not in use.

Editor's Note:  I keep a toothbrush (no, not one that has been used on teeth) as well as a nail brush that I use for cleaning out hard to get to places on kitchen tools - and so I was able to clean out the food bits on the blades of the box grater without worrying that I would scrape my hand.