On or about my birthday (Sept. 6), I made what I called an "executive decision": I was going to order a kitchen gadget I've been wanting for quite a while.
To back up, I've been making a fair bit of "thirty-minute mozzarella" lately. This is a fast and easy way to use up surplus milk, freezes beautifully, and supplies us with endless ingredients for future pizzas. However I was stymied by one essential step: Grating the cheese.
Using the faithful box grater I've had for years, this mozzarella simply didn't want to shred. It would tear. It would clump. It would fall apart. But conspicuously, it wouldn't shred. It was beyond frustrating, especially since I was making so much mozzarella.
So I told Don I was buying myself a birthday present: A rotary cheese grater.
This grater has a suction feature to affix it firmly to a surface by turning a knob. I learned it doesn't affix well to our wooden kitchen table (since it's not perfectly smooth), but it does well on the kitchen counter.
And I tell ya, the difference in grating mozzarella is night and day. Here's some cheese which I cut into chunks small enough to fit in the grater's hopper.
The grater has a pusher used to push the food into the cutting blades (for safety).
It grates the cheese cleanly and easily, unlike the hot mess I would make with the box grater.
The grater comes with several different blades (coarse, fine, slicing), though I've only used the coarse blade so far. It grates potatoes, cheese, veggies ... anything, really.
I told Don this is my new favorite kitchen tool. The only remaining question is – why did I wait until I turned 64 to get one?
UPDATE: Sorry, I should have linked to the actual product when I posted this. Interestingly, the box it came in doesn't have a brand name on it, which means doubtless they're all made in some overseas factory and then slapped with a label from various "manufacturers." At any rate, this is the kind I bought, though there are numerous similar (or identical) graters available.
I haaaaaaaate grating cheese. I keep meaning to order a grater attachment for my Kitchen Aid and keep not doing it.
ReplyDeleteI then ordered one from Amazon. Fear me, I shall be grating everything!
DeleteWaited? Because we all hate single use gadgets like avocado slicer, pineapple corer. But sounds like its multiuse, you just didnt realize it at time of purchase
ReplyDeleteSounds like one of my "Duh" moments!
ReplyDeleteHow does it clean up? I clean my box grater immediately!!!
ReplyDeleteAre there places inside for cheese to get stuck? Otherwise, Bravo! 👏
It comes apart and cleans up very easily. I make it a point to clean it immediately so nothing get stuck.
Delete- Patrice
You will love this tool. I use it for grating everything. Works very well for hash browns too. And easy clean up. The one I have at the cabin has a "spiral" cut blade which I use for "curly" fries in the air fryer or bake them.
ReplyDeleteQuick question, I am starting a sourdough starter (my first), the recipes I have looked at indicate I should the keep the starter in a warm place to start for 3-5 days. How warm? I don't really have a warm place other than if I turn on my stove light below the microwave, the microwave stays about 96 degrees. Is that good? Thanks, Patrick
Don - Way too hot. Just set it somewhere out of direct sunlight on a counter at room temperature. Bear in mind, you'll have to toss most of it out (like leave a couple of tablespoons) then add more flour to the remainder a few times until the starter gets really robust.
ReplyDeleteThank you Don!! I'll let you know how it turns out. Patrick
DeleteThere are recipes for sourdough discard out there, too.
DeleteThanks Krab!! Patrick
DeleteOne of my favorite discard recipes is for Dutch babies! With fresh squeezed lemon and powdered sugar - yum!
DeleteYou can get an attachment for Kitchenaid that grates it too!
ReplyDeleteThere is no need to shred cheese whatsoever. You can cover pizza with very thin slices and if you make some cheese filled muffins or something, cutting it to small cubes will do.
ReplyDeleteOrdering info?
ReplyDeleteI added a link at the bottom of the post under "Update." Sorry, I should have done that before.
Delete- Patrice
I honestly am shocked you did not already own one of these or picked one up at a thrift store over the years. These were super common in the 1950s-1970s, most name brand companies made similar ones with all sorts of slicing attachments you could use with them. My parents had a couple different ones, one they purchased in the early 60s, the others were from my mom's parents when they died. They just mainly used it for grating zucchini to freeze, but also used it for grating cheese when we made tacos or pizza. They pop up all the time at the thrift stores around here, usually missing most of the parts, but I picked one up for $5 at a thrift store about 15 years ago that had all the attachments, and now I own numerous ones because I inherited all the ones my parents had when they passed away. I've tried to find people locally I know how want them, but all want the electric types. Although I will admit, salad shooters do work rather well on most cheese, it's what I often use when I lack time to break out the other style. If you ever take a trip to south central Idaho I would totally hook you up with an old all metal one that will outlast all of us, LOL
ReplyDeleteMouli? What I want is a can opener that actually lasts. So annoying. I swear if I could make and sell one, I'd make a zillion. Same with the printer app I'd like to invent. I'd call it something like "This Actually Makes Your Printer Work."
DeleteI just got one but a different brand and love it too
ReplyDeleteSJ now in California
I am so old-school that even though I possess an attachment for grating cheese for my Kitchen Aid (came with the apple processor and meat grinder), I never use it. Always grate cheese by hand with a horizontal one that fits over a little tub to catch the cheese. I'm glad you like your new tool!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWe bought one from Amazon last year and love it.