Cheese graters

libra10

I thought to ask here, as there are lots of useful tips and advice.
My little old manual rotary cheese grater has just broken.  It wasn't much good as it always seemed hard work cutting the cheese into small pieces, crushing down with the bar, then it left lots of ungrated cheese round the rim.
I would like to replace with a modern hi-tech gadget, which is easy to use, works perfectly, and is easy to store and clean.
My ancient old Kenwood food processor does a great job, but takes ages to get out, set up, then clean afterwards.
I don't mind paying for a good quality, reliable item.
Any ideas anyone?

joedenise

Have to admit when I want to grate a lot of cheese I use my Kenwood Chef but it's actually on the worktop so all I have to do is get the processor and grater blade out to use it.  If I only want a small amount grated I just use a box grater.

clive0510

we got one like a square tower with a handle on top. got a different grater on each of its 4 sides. its years old and still good. I thought one cheese grater same as the next. never really thought about it.

maman

Why not use your food processor and grate loads of cheese and freeze it? That makes it worth all the effort and you have grated cheese to hand even when you only want a small amount. You can use it straight from frozen. 🤔

libra10

I thought there might be a speedy little electronic gizmo that might work well. Am I better with a manual grater?

libra10

maman said:

Why not use your food processor and grate loads of cheese and freeze it? That makes it worth all the effort and you have grated cheese to hand even when you only want a small amount. You can use it straight from frozen. 🤔

Thanks maman, that might be a plan. Have to confess, have never thought of freezing cheese. 

Thanks for your input. 

joedenise

@libra10 I wouldn't bother trying to freeze cheese in a lump as it just gets really crumbly!  Grated cheese is brilliant and as @maman says can grab what you need and use from frozen.

[Deleted User]

Why does it need to be high tech? I've got one of these:

libra10

I’ve also got one of those jack-pott. It’s OK if just grating a couple of ounces (or metric equivalent) of   cheese, but when larger quantities needed, for example, lasagne or quiche, would  prefer something to make light of the job. I wondered if there was anything new out there. 

PipneyJane

libra10 said:

I’ve also got one of those jack-pott. It’s OK if just grating a couple of ounces (or metric equivalent) of   cheese, but when larger quantities needed, for example, lasagne or quiche, would  prefer something to make light of the job. I wondered if there was anything new out there. 

When you factor in washing-up time, a box grater is probably the best tool around: cheap, fast, easy to use and easy to clean.  It also helps maintain your arm muscles.  I can grate a large block of cheddar using the box grater in the same time it takes to get out the food processor, set it up, and run suitably-sized lumps of cheddar through the machine.

The small, hand-cranked grater devices were designed for very hard cheeses like Parmesan.  Anything softer, like cheddar, will get smooshed against the edges.

HTH.

- Pip

monnagran

I used to have an electric grater but it disappeared in a move.  I have tried and failed to find one like it.  It was brilliant.  I not only used it for cheese but onions, courgettes and loads of other things went through with ease.  I have a Magimix, but like the Kenwood, if you only want to do a relatively small amount its not worth the faff.
If anyone finds one and it works well, I would love to hear about it.