If you’re anything like me, you’ve been using your box cheese grater for years and neglecting the side with tiny, sharp holes without even questioning what it’s for.
It turns out that we’re not alone in this. Reddit user MrLewk posted in /r/CasualUK asking what we should have been asking a long time ago: “Does anybody even use this part of the grater? What is it for?”
While some users offered funny but ultimately unhelpful answers like “slicing your knuckles open” and “back scratcher”, thankfully, some kitchen wizards were on hand to provide the real answer to this grate question (sorry).
What the smallest holes on a cheese grater are for
The answer is actually quite obvious. It’s mostly for zest!
These tiny holes are ideal for lemon zest, ginger zest or even parmesan shavings. Other Reddit users recommended using it for Nutmeg, garlic, and onions.
User Ex-zaviera said, though, that graters a 70s throwback and these days, a lot of expensive cheese gets stuck in the teeth of grater and instead recommends the microplane saying: “Microplane it or go home”.
However, another user said that using these small holes with onions is better than chopping them as it makes a puree that “tastes better”.
Finally, one thrifty commenter said that they use it to break up hardened brown sugar.
Brb, off to zest some lemons, Bake Off style.