Grating, Zesting, Shredding - Oh My! Fun in the Kitchen With My Microplane Grater/Zester!
Written: Jul 21 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Grates, zests and finely shreds - and is simple to clean up!
Cons: Can be a little unwieldy to hold while using.
The Bottom Line: An inexpensive gadget that can intensify the flavors of your meals in no time!
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| mrs-j's Full Review: Microplane 8.5" Grater/Zester |
Introduction
Prior to taking a few culinary courses in the area, my experience with foods was limited to slicing and dicing. Julienne wasn't a part of my vocabulary and zesting? I'd never even heard of it.
Soon enough, though, I learned the joys of zesting lemons and grating ginger. To quote Emeril, such knowledge really "kicked up" my cooking a notch.
You can actually buy microplane graters at hardware stores. Really. They're used for woodworking. But if you want a nice handle and something that works best in the kitchen, you will want to go with one from a cooking store.
About the Grater
I purchased my Microplane 8.5" Grater/Zester from a local cooking store, brought it home and put it to the test.
It was up to all of the tasks required in my kitchen. In fact, I only have one small complaint about this grater - it's just a little unwieldy to hold because of its length, particularly if you are trying to zest or grate a large or bulky piece of food.
Grating Ginger
I first used my Microplane 8.5" Grater/Zester to grate up some ginger for a General Tso's Chicken recipe I was cooking. I liked that I could stand up the grater directly inside the mixing bowl and use it.
I shredded a 2" knob of ginger in only a couple of minutes and was rewarded with an aromatic pile of ginger and juice directly inside the mixing bowl. Using my finger (be careful that you go with the grain of the cutters on each side or you can grate your own skin) I gently wiped off the ginger that had stuck to the grater and added it to the bowl.
Zesting Lemons/Limes/Oranges
Zesting is called for in recipes where you want to lend an aromatic flavor to the food. Citrus fruit peels are most often zested. It's as simple as rubbing the unpeeled fruit up against the Microplane 8.5" Zester and grating off just the exterior of the peel. You don't want to grate off the white part of the peel (underneath the colored exterior) because that part is bitter.
I grabbed a lime for a chicken marinade I was preparing and zested it quickly and easily using the tool. It took me all of about thirty seconds to have most of the lime zest off the lime and again, straight into the mixing bowl.
Other Uses
I have used the Microplane 8.5" Grater/Zester for finely shredded cheese and found it to be acceptable, but it does take awhile to shred the cheese and it just wasn't worth the effort required. I have taken to using a slightly larger hand-held grater for hard cheeses.
You can also grate garlic and onion directly with this grater, though they take a long time and are slightly cumbersome. I haven't found that grating either of these is an improvement over finely dicing or mincing them with a knife.
I've also learned one other trick on FoodTV - When I make potato salad, I like to add in grated egg to the salad. Just hard boil and peel and egg, and grate it against the Microplane 8.5" Grater/Zester just as you would anything else. It only takes a moment and it lends a terrific flavor and a wonderful texture to your potato salad, without big chunks of egg being all over the place. You can also grate eggs to add to the tops of your green leafy salads as well, or anywhere else that you might find yourself using a hard boiled egg.
Cleanup
Cleaning the Microplane 8.5" Grater/Zester is simple. It's dishwasher-safe, but it never even makes it to the dishwasher in my household. As soon as I'm done grating or zesting for my recipe, I take it straight to the sink, run it under warm water, and run a soapy sponge over the front and the back in the direction of the cutting blades on each side (so as not to shred the sponge). This gets all of the food out of it and then I throw it on the drying rack to dry while I finish preparing my recipe.
We store the grater in our tool carousel by the sink, where it's always ready to grab at a moment's notice.
Summary
After six months of using this handy little tool I find myself wondering how I ever cooked without it! Not only do I make ginger dressings and sauces constantly now, but all of my other meals are more flavorful as well. It's become standard practice to use the zest of a lemon or a lime in addition to the actual juice whenever the juice is called for in a recipe. The flavors are outstanding!
All I know is that if this tool suddenly disappeared from my kitchen, I would be in a cooking store the very next day purchasing a new one. It's become as indispensable to me as the can opener, or even my good knives, in the kitchen!
Recommended:
Yes
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mrs-j
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