A cheese grater can be used for many other cooking techniques than grating cheeses.

There are many different things you can do with a cheese grater.

Your cheese grater is really just an old-school food processor, except it’s a lot easier to work with. And you can just throw it in the dishwasher when you’re done. Here are some other ways to use it:

  • When a recipe calls for cutting butter into flour, freeze a stick of butter and use your cheese grater on the hard stick to quickly create small pieces of butter. This is a great way to combine butter and flour for biscuits or pie crust.
  • No need for a garlic mincer or lemon zester; a cheese grater’s smallest holes do the job perfectly. There’s one less gadget for your wedding registry.
  • For fine bits of carrot for salads or summer rolls, shred a large carrot on your cheese grater. It also makes nice small wisps of radishes, zucchini or jicama.
  • Instead of a potato ricer, use your cheese grater to turn cooked potatoes into a fine mush for gnocchi or super-smooth mashed potatoes. Just make sure to let the potatoes cool off a bit first.