How to Use Your Box Grater on All Four Sides

It's time to reconsider using your box grater. It's not simply a one-time use kitchen item; you can use it for much more than just shredding cheese. It has four useful aspects, three of which many home chefs overlook. (After all, why do you need such tiny holes?)

If this huge appliance is going to take up valuable kitchen space, you should put it to use. So, if you have one rusting away at the bottom of your trash drawer, it's time to pull it out (maybe with a piece of steel wool) and include it into your meal-prep routine.

Here's how to utilize your box grater for everything from fresh spice grinding to preparing cold blocks of butter for last-minute baking endeavors.

thinly slice

This is the most ignored of the four sides, yet it's your hidden weapon for veggie prep.Use it to slice fresh veggies like potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and squash before roasting them—ideal for a visually appealing ratatouille or crispy potato chips. If you're working with a show-stopping piece of produce, such as the always-impressive watermelon radish, skip the knife and grate it using this side of the box grater to obtain paper-thin slices. Then, for a colorful meal, top your avocado toast with this brilliant pink root vegetable.

Grate finely

Use the side that appears like it's coated in round tiny stars for a little sprinkling of cheese. It may also be used to grate nutmeg and cinnamon, as well as zest citrus fruits. Just be careful—this side isn't for the faint of heart. When grating anything, use a gentle touch and just zest the brilliantly colored skin, not the bitter white pith beneath it.

shred

Shred cheese into thin strips using this side.It's also ideal for topping your salad with a hard cheese, such as cheddar. These tiny holes can also be used to break down garlic and ginger for a soup, stew, or stir-fry. Use this side to produce thin veggie shreds for carrot cake or chocolate-zucchini muffins.

The familiar (and already adored) side

This side of the box grater is typically the most visible in your kitchen. If you're cooking savory pancakes (or latkes), you may use it to shred cheese as well as vegetables like potatoes. This side may be used to shred tomatoes for a fresh-tasting tomato sauce. This side is also great with butter. If you fail to soften your butter before beginning a baking endeavor, don't worry since you can just shred it using a box grater and effortlessly incorporate it into whatever you're preparing.