08 January, 2007

Microplane Grater review

My Microplane grater
Well, you rarely see a celebrety chef using any other kind, Anthony Worral Thompson sold this one to me (indirectly) by doing a quick demo on TV on a block of cheese (grating half a pound in about 3 seconds flat, with very little effort), so I had to have one...this was difficult for two reasons -
1) I had no idea what they were called (only what they looked like)
2) All the shops I looked in didn't stock anything remotely similar in appearance
- I even put the description on my christmas list (to no avail, and you can never underestimate Flyingpops' ability to do her research), so I was pleased, when in the gastro-mecca of Padstow, to find one (just one, mind!) in a crowded little kitchen shop (which amazingly *didn't* belong to Rick).

Anyway, the story goes, an American housewife (these graters originate from the States, which explains *some* of the difficulty sourcing one over here) was trying to zest a lemon, and failing miserably, in desperation she went into her husband's workshop and grabbed one of his tempered steel wood shavers (which worked a treat), thus inspiring the range...

And they are awesome, and sharp in the extreme, if you get one, resist the urge to touch the cutting edge, I almost cut my finger with my ginger experimental poke...trust me, if you can find one, you'll never want to go back to a flimsy sheet of blunt tin ever again... ;)

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