It’s a tool you probably use every day, especially if you love your food with a generous helping of grated cheese (who doesn’t?)
But a cheese grater actually has four sides, and many of its functions, confusingly, aren’t intended to grate cheese at all.
According to kitchen food experts, a cheese grater has many hidden features, as it were, which make it much more versatile than a simple cheese grating device.
Food and drink experts at Chatelaine outline exactly how one side of a cheese grater, rather than the front and back, could totally change the way you do your cooking. They said: “Thinly slice side. Of all the four sides, this one is the most overlooked, but it’s your secret weapon for veggie prep. Try using it to slice raw vegetables, like potatoes and squash, before roasting them—perfect for a beautifully presented ratatouille or crispy potato chips.
“If you’re working with a show-stopping piece of produce, like the always impressive watermelon radish, forgo the knife and use this side of the box grater to achieve paper-thin slices. Then top your avocado toast with this bright pink root veggie for a colourful dish.”
Legendary domestic expert Martha Stewart says this isn’t just for veggies, though, and can still be used to slice up cheese in a different way:“The side with the wide horizontal slots is designed for slicing. It’s not as effective as a mandoline or sharp knife, but it works well for making quick slices of cheese (or vegetables like cucumber or potatoes). Use it to make wide shavings of hard and semi-hard cheeses—when you want to garnish a pasta dish or salad with evenly thick shaved Parm or Pecorino or add a few thin slices of cheddar, aged Gouda, or Gruyère to a sandwich.”
People on Reddit, when confronted with this new information, were taken aback.
u/bobs5596 said: “i have never known what the other three sides are for. Thanks.”
u/ashrules901 said: “Interesting… Have to give that a try”
U/and_justice added: “I have a completely separate implement for thin slices of cheese. It never even occurred to me that the side of the cheese grater was anything more than decoration.”