A grater, also known as a shredder, is a

kitchen utensil A kitchen utensil is a small hand held tool used for food preparation. Common kitchen tasks include cutting food items to size, heating food on an open fire or on a stove, baking, grinding, mixing, blending, and measuring; different utensils a ...

used to grate foods into fine pieces.

Uses

Food preparation

Several types of graters feature different sizes of grating slots, and can therefore aid in the preparation of a variety of foods. They are commonly used to grate

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

and

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

peel (to create

zest Zest may refer to: Common usage * Zest (ingredient), the outer peel of a citrus fruit ** Zester, a tool for preparing zest ** Twist (cocktail garnish), a piece of zest * Zest (positive psychology), a component of character Brands * Zest (brand ...

spices A spice is a seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garni ...

, such as

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

and

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...

, and can also be used to grate other soft foods. They are commonly used in the preparation of

toasted cheese Cheese on toast is made by placing sliced or grated cheese on toasted bread and melting it under a grill. It is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the Caribbean and in African countries. It is also known as r ...

Welsh rarebit Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit ( or ) is a dish consisting of a hot Cheese sauce, cheese-based sauce served over slices of Toast (food), toasted bread. The original 18th-century name of the dish was the jocular "Welsh rabbit", which was later fo ...

egg salad Egg salad is a dish made primarily of chopped hard-boiled or scrambled eggs, mustard, and mayonnaise, often including other ingredients such as celery. It is made mixed with seasonings in the form of herbs, spices and other ingredients, bound w ...

, and dishes which contain

cheese sauce Cheese sauce is a sauce made with cheese or processed cheese as a primary ingredient. Sometimes dried cheese or cheese powder is used. Several varieties exist and it has many various culinary uses. Mass-produced commercial cheese sauces are also ...

such as

macaroni and cheese Macaroni and cheese (also called mac and cheese in Canada and the United States and macaroni cheese in the United KingdomBBC, RecipesMacaroni Cheese/ref>) is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly Cheddar sauce. The ...

cauliflower cheese Cauliflower cheese is a traditional British dish. It can be eaten as a main course, for lunch or dinner, or as a side dish. Cauliflower cheese consists of pieces of cauliflower lightly boiled and covered with a milk-based cheese sauce, for whic ...

. In

Slavic cuisine Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Sla ...

, graters are commonly used to grate

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es for preparation of dishes, including

draniki Potato pancakes are shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato, matzo meal or flour and a binding ingredient such as egg or applesauce, often flavored with grated garlic or onion and seasoning. They may be topped with a variety of condime ...

bramborak Potato pancakes are shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato, matzo meal or flour and a binding ingredient such as egg or applesauce, often flavored with grated garlic or onion and seasoning. They may be topped with a variety of condim ...

potato babka Potato babka is a savoury dish, popular especially in Belarus and northeastern Poland, where it is known as babka ziemniaczana. It is made from grated potatoes, eggs, onions, and pieces of smoked, boiled or fried bacon and (especially in P ...

. In tropical countries graters are also used to grate

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

meat. In the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, the grater is used for preparation of a popular dessert,

Gajar Ka Halwa Gajar ka halwa, also known as gajorer halua, gajrela, gajar pak, and carrot halwa is a carrot-based sweet dessert pudding made by placing grated carrots in a pot containing a specific amount of water, milk and sugar, cardamom and then cooking wh ...

. Graters produce shreds that are thinner at the ends than the middle. This allows the grated material to melt or cook in a different manner than the shreds of mostly uniform thickness produced by the grating blade of a

food processor A food processor is a kitchen appliance used to facilitate repetitive tasks in the preparation of food. Today, the term almost always refers to an electric-motor-driven appliance, although there are some manual devices also referred to as "food ...

. Hand-grated potatoes, for example, melt together more easily in a potato pancake than food-processed potato shreds.

In music

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

, coconut graters are used as a traditional musical instrument (along with drums, fife, and other instruments) in the performance of

kumina Kumina is an Afro-Jamaican religion. Kumina has practices that include secular ceremonies, dance and music that developed from the beliefs and traditions brought to the island by Kongo people, Kongo Atlantic slave trade, enslaved people and Indent ...

jonkanoo Junkanoo is a street parade with music, dance, and costumes with origin in many islands across the English speaking Caribbean every Boxing Day (26 December) and New Year's Day (1 January). These cultural parades are predominantly showcased in t ...

, and sometimes

mento Mento is a style of Music of Jamaica, Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. It is a fusion of African rhythmic elements and European elements, which reached peak popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. ...

History

The first attested graters were made out of bronze, and also silver alloys, in the early first millennium BCE, examples of which were uncovered from burial sites in Greece and Etruscan Italy. In line with

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

these were sometimes used to grate goat's cheese in the making of a type of

Kykeon Kykeon (, ; from , "to stir, to mix") was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek drink of various descriptions. Some were made mainly of water, barley and naturally occurring substances. Others were made with wine and grated cheese. It is widely believe ...

, a fast breaking drink. The modern cheese grater was invented in France in the 1540s by François Boullier. His

pewter Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades of ...

design was intended to convert hard cheeses into something more edible.

Variants

Spiralizers are complex food-processing machines with grater-like mechanisms. These mechanisms rotate by the turn of a cluster to produce ribbons or noodles.

Images

Image:Micro Plane.jpg, A

microplane Microplane is a registered trademark of Grace Manufacturing Inc., a company that makes photo etched steel tools ( surform tools) for grating, grinding and sanding. It was created by Richard Grace in the mid-'90s. Grace set out to make a wood-carvin ...

Image:Zest Grater.jpg, A

Zester A zester (also, citrus zester or lemon zester) is a kitchen utensil for obtaining zest from lemons and other citrus fruit. A kitchen zester is approximately long, with a handle and a curved metal end, the top of which is perforated with a row of ...

Image:Muskatreibe fcm.jpg, A

nutmeg grater A nutmeg grater, also called a nutmeg rasp, is a device used to grate a nutmeg seed. Nutmeg graters are normally metal, cylindrical or half-cylindrical, the surface perforated with small rasped holes. The nutmeg is passed over the surface to g ...

Image:Terka.jpg, Multiple graters Image:GingerGrater.png, Porcelain ginger or garlic grater Image:Oroshigane.Sharkskin.jpg, Sharkskin grater File:Chirava c.jpg, Traditional

coconut grater Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food in ...

design in the Indo-Pacific

In popular culture

Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comics artist, comic book artist and writer best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ...

, co-creator of the

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

, got the idea for the Shredder's armor from large cheese graters which he envisioned on a villainous character's arms to be used as weapons. Originally called "Grate Man", the Shredder is known as the primary antagonist in the TMNT franchise. *

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

sports fans are often called

cheesehead Cheesehead is a nickname in the United States for a person from Wisconsin or for a fan of the Green Bay Packers NFL football franchise. Current usage Wisconsin is associated with cheese because the state historically produced more dairy produc ...

s, and some wear cheese hats. In 2013, sports fans of Chicago and Minnesota replied to their rivals by wearing cheese graters.Cheddar shredder
- Chicago Tribune, 26 December 2013

References

{{Kitchen tools Food preparation utensils French inventions