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Kitchen Tips

How To Use All 4 Sides Of Your Box Grater

In a hurry to soften cold butter for baking? A box grater can help with that.
How To Use All 4 Sides Of Your Box Grater

Photo, iStock

It's time to rethink your box grater. It's a not just a single-use kitchen tool—you can do way more than just shred cheese with this metal contraption. It has four handy sides, three of which many home cooks are ignoring. (Why do you need those super-tiny holes, anyway?)

If this bulky device is going to take up valuable space in your kitchen, you should put it to work. So if you have one rusting away at the bottom of the junk drawer, it's time to dig it out (perhaps scour it with a piece of steel wool) and incorporate it into your meal-time prep.

Here's how to use your box grater to do everything from grating fresh spices to prepping cold blocks of butter for impromptu baking projects.

Use this side of a box grater for slicing.For slicing, not dicing.

Side 1: Thinly slice

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Of all the four sides, this one is the most overlooked, but it's your secret weapon for veggie prep. Try using it to slice raw vegetables, like potatoes, eggplant, zucchini and squash, before roasting them—perfect for a beautifully presented ratatouille or crispy potato chips. If you're working with a show-stopping piece of produce, like the always impressive watermelon radish, forgo the knife and use this side of the box grater to achieve paper-thin slices. Then top your avocado toast with this bright pink root veggie for a colourful dish.

Use this side of a box grater for fine dustings of cheese.Protect your fingers on this side.

Side 2: Finely grate

For a light dusting of cheese, use the side that looks like it's covered in round little stars. You can also use it to grate nutmeg and cinnamon and to zest citrus fruits. Just be careful—this side isn't exactly finger-friendly. Be sure to press lightly on whatever you're grating and with citrus, just zest the brightly coloured skin and not the bitter white pith beneath it.

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Use this side of a box grater for grating cheddar over a salad.For smaller shreds.

Side 3: Shred

Use this side to shred cheese into fine strips. It's also perfect if you wanted to top your salad with a firm cheese, like cheddar. You can also rely on these smaller holes to break down garlic and ginger for a soup, stew or stir-fry. If you're making carrot cake or chocolate-zucchini muffins, use this side to get thin veggie shreds.

The most commonly used side of a box grate.Hello, old sport.
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Side 4: The side you know (and already love)

This side of the box grater probably gets the most attention in your kitchen. You can use it to shred cheese, as well as veggies like potatoes if you're making any kind of savoury pancakes (or latkes). Use this side to shred tomatoes for a fresh-tasting tomato sauce. This side is also perfect for butter. The next time you inevitably forget to soften your butter before starting a baking project, don't sweat it because you can simply shred it with your box grater and easily incorporate into whatever you're making.

Bonus: An herb de-stemmer

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You can also use your box grater the next time you need to separate leaves from a stem of parsley or cilantro. It's quick and very effective!

@chatelaine And here I was picking leaves off one by one…. Did you know?? #kitchenhack #lifehack #peelingparsley #cookingtip ♬ Ultimate life hacks - Kelly - The Life Bath

 OXO Good Grips Box Grater, $29

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OXO Good Grips kitchen accessories are a reasonably priced kitchen standard for small accessories. Their products are often dishwasher safe and hold up well over time. This four-sided box grater is no exception, with a silicone-covered handle to prevent slip-ups mid-grate and a catch-all container at the bottom to keep things tidy.

Box grater

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Microplane Specialty Series Cube Grater, $29

Calling all Microplane super fans: the makers of the iconic, fine-shred grater that handles parmesan blocks and citrus zest with ease have turned their high-quality product into a literal box grater. This neatly sealed cube features three types of blades that can handle nuts, chocolate, carrots, and any other hard ingredient you'd like to finely grate.

A cube-shaped grater that fits into a sealed box.
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KitchenAid Gourmet Box Grater, $15

Our hands-down best deal of the bunch. KitchenAid's sturdy, stainless steel pick features the four classic styes of blades you'd expect from a box grater, plus a re-sealable catchall container.

Stainless steel box grater with a rubber handle
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Originally published January 2018. Updated February 2024.

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