left to right: cheese grater, newer small hole model, my first Microplane
There are kitchen gadget that make your life so much easier you wonder what you did before getting one. Of course there are some that are plain silly and linger in a kitchen drawer until they get tossed out or a friend looks at it and says: “Wow, I always wanted one these” even after being warned about it’s uselessness. That’s OK at least then it’s out of the house.
This handy tool is one of the gadgets that belongs into my “all time favorite kitchen tool” category. You would think that I own part of this company the way I can go on and on about it. I do not!
I have two different models. One with small, flat holes and one with larger, wider holes.
The model with the tiny, flat but sharp openings is the perfect grater for all sorts of things, mostly for “zesting”. The openings are so small that they grate the surface without tearing it.
When lemon and oranges are plentiful and inexpensive I buy a bunch and grate the zest with my small hole Microplane. It grates the perfect zest for flavoring a dish. What I don’t need right away, I freeze. By using a Microplane I can avoid getting any of the white pith that can impart a bitter taste to my dishes.
This Microplane is also perfect for grating nutmeg. Freshly grated nutmeg tastes so much better than what you can buy at the grocery store already grated.
Kathryn from the Beechmont Inn, in an earlier post, was singing the praises of “Penzey’s” and I wholeheartedly second that. I order all my spices from Penzey’s including whole nutmeg.
It’s great for fresh ginger root too.
The model that has the larger holes is perfect for grating cheese or when a recipe calls for chunkier, fresh ginger root.
I bought my first Microplane about 10 years ago and I still use it almost every day.
Brampton Inn
http://www.bramptoninn.com
Danielle Hanscom
Bed and Breakfast Foodie