Tool of the Week: Microplane Easy to Squeeze Parmesan Rotary Grater
—Contest now closed—
My cheese is four times as large as what's shown!
First, a disclaimer. This week’s giveaway isn’t a brand-new tool. I actually used it once.
And in doing so, I made a new discovery.
(I’m finding out that constantly experimenting with new tools is opening up parts of my brain in ways that I haven’t experienced in awhile. Kinda like shape-shifting.)
In fact, shape-shifting is quickly becoming the norm here at BehindTheKnife, and we never know which direction it’s going to go, or the form it’s going to take. This is true whether we hear of a chef who substitutes a tire iron for a meat mallet or a chocolatier uses sewing needles to dip bon bons.
Last night brought yet another revelation. My go-to handheld grater for Parmesan was in the dishwasher, and in my box of Microplane goodies, I remembered seeing a rotary grater. I’d always marveled at these things in middle-of-the-road Italian restaurants, but I’d never before used one, it always struck me as an intricately choreographed ballet. How do you keep from spilling the grated cheese all over the floor or tablecloth while transferring it to the plate? Regardless of being a rotary grater virgin, I grabbed it and headed back to the kitchen.
My first problem: I’m not the most coordinated person in the world, and it took awhile to figure out how to open the thing. Then, the real problem arose:
Besides pignoli, I need Parmesan. Every day. On everything. And so I buy the ginormous industrial-sized wedges, which last about a week in my house.
Of course, it wouldn’t fit in the cheese receptacle. In fact, it was bigger than the entire grater. I also do not go gently into the night. I crammed part of it in, but then the handle disengaged and the drum fell out.
So I checked my stash of knives-to-be-tested. No hatchet. YET. And besides being uncoordinated, my middle name is anything but Grace, so I’m not gonna take one of my standard-issue knives and try to tame my hunk of Parmesan down to size. That would result in a trip to the emergency room or Little Sh*t losing a few whiskers.
My new go-to grater, the Microplane Straight Blade Peeler
My pasta was quickly cooling down. I was getting panicky. The tool on deck was a Microplane Straight Blade Peeler. I grabbed it, applied it to my boulder-sized hunk of Parm, et voila. As long, consistent strands of cheese hit the hot pasta, I watched as the Parm changed shape, then color, and melded perfectly into the dish.
It also doesn’t take much to entertain me. And I now have a new tool to grate my Parm.
If you have a Parm habit the size of mine, the grater won’t work. But the Peeler will. Or a hatchet, if you have one handy.
So, the moral: If one tool doesn’t work for you, try another until you find one that does. Keep in mind, it may not bear the slightest resemblance to the original tool.
Who cares? Go ahead and use it.
Win One!
One lucky BehindTheKnife.com reader will win the slightly-used and dishwashered Microplane Easy to Squeeze Parmesan Rotary Grater FREE, a $19.95 value. Just leave a comment below by Friday December 17th, 11:59 p.m. This week, comment about a kitchen tool you’ve used — either now or in the past — for something other than its intended purpose.
Yes, we know this is the second week in a row that the Tool of the Week is from Microplane. But I’m not hearing any complaints…
BONUS! Get an extra chance to win by also signing up for our newsletter, The Blowtorch.
Spread the love
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@BehindTheKnife Win a Microplane Parmesan Grater #giveaway RT by 12/17 http://tinyurl.com/yduuzdp
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I used my garlic press to crack a walnut.