Cheese slicers and graters are some of the must-have kitchen utensils. Most households might have several of them and they truly help a lot in slicing and grating cheese nicely. But did you know that there are different kinds of cheese slicer and graters? Each kind has their own unique use as well.
Cheese Slicers
Cheese slicers help in cutting the cheese nicely to be able to have an appealing cheese plate. Compared to knives, cheese slicers allow you to control the shape of your cut cheese, as well as its thickness. You can also cut the cheese neatly using them. There are three types of cheese slicers and they have diverse slicing mechanisms as well.
- Cheese Plane: this cheese slicer has the original shape of cheese slicers in Norway. It has a hole above the blade of cheese planes that is set in the metal surface base. This lets the cheese slices to pass through easily. This kind of cheese slicer is best used in cutting large block of hard cheese into very thin slices which are placed in sandwiches.
- Rolling Cheese Slicer: this cheese slicer has a solid handle that splits into T-shape, a roller, and a wire which is its slicing mechanism. Its wire is made of stainless steel which will enable you to slice the cheese in different thickness. This cheese slicer is best used for soft and semi-hard cheese.
- Wire Cheese Slicer: Compared to the aforementioned cheese slicers, this one takes up more room because it includes a cutting board that serves as the container of the cheese, and an attached arm with a wire to cut the cheese evenly. Though it takes more spaces, this cheese slicer is great because it effortlessly allows you to cut great slices of cheese neat and straight. It is best used on soft and semi-hard cheese but it can also be helpful in cutting harder cheese.
Cheese Graters
Almost every one of us owns a cheese grater, and they are helpful in cooking and in decorating dishes with cheese. There are different types of cheese graters and each type serve different purposes.
- Box Grater: this is the classic type of grater which is used for both hard and soft cheeses. Most box graters have a sturdy base and a handle on top. It usually has three to four different grating sizes. Some also have a removable storage container which is used to catch and measure the grated cheese. Aside from cheese, it can also be used to grate hard vegetables such as carrots and beets.
- Boska Cheese Grater: Boska is a business in the Netherlands which creates cheese tools. In fact, they have been manufacturing and distributing these tools for over a hundred years. This kind of cheese grater is designed for soft and very hard cheese. It is easy-to-use and to store as well. It also has sharp grating surface and a unique non-stick formula.
- Microplane Grater: this one allows you to grate hard cheese finely in both directions. It will give you a super fine texture of cheese. It is very useful in grating parmesan cheese over pasta. It can also be used to zest citrus fruits, garlic, and ginger. However, it can’t be used to grate softer cheeses.
- Rotary Cheese Grater: this type of grater is easier to hold compared to box graters and it is much safer than microplane graters. It is best used in grating really hard cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano, Asiago, and Canaria. It can also be stored in the refrigerator with a chunk of cheese inside it. Aside from cheeses, it can also grate nuts and hard chocolates. However, a rotary cheese grater can take up more room in the cupboard.
- Food Processor Grater: Most of the food processors come with a grating plate which can be used to shred and grate large amount of cheese. It can be the safest way to grate cheese as well as coconut. However, if you do not have a food processor, it’s not practical to purchase one if you just aim to use it for grating cheese. It is also not convenient if you will only grate a small amount of cheese.
Now that you know the different types of cheese slicers and graters, you might want to add some to your kitchen utensils. They will always come in handy. Check here for more slicers you can consider.