Grater

A grater, also referred to as a shredder, is a kitchen utensil used to grate or shred foods into fine pieces. They come in several shapes and sizes, with box graters being the most common.[1] Other styles include paddles, microplane/rasp graters, and rotary drum graters.[1][2]

## Contents

* 1 Uses
* 1.1 Food preparation
* 1.2 In music
* 2 History
* 3 Images
* 4 In popular culture
* 5 See also
* 6 References

## Uses

### Food preparation

Grated carrot

Graters are commonly used to process vegetables, cheese, citrus peels (to create zest), and spices (such as ginger and nutmeg). They can also be used to grate other soft foods. Dishes whose preparation involves graters include toasted cheese, Welsh rarebit, egg salad,[3] and foods containing cheese sauce such as macaroni and cheese and cauliflower cheese. Rotary graters are more efficient than other graters, due to their mechanical leverage, and are effective for processing harder foods like nuts.[1]

Several types of graters feature different sizes of grating slots and can therefore aid in the preparation of a variety of foods.[1]

In Slavic cuisine, graters are commonly used to grate potatoes for preparation of dishes, including draniki, bramborak or potato babka.

In tropical countries graters are also used to grate coconut meat. In the Indian subcontinent, the grater is used for preparation of a popular dessert, Gajar Ka Halwa.[4]

Graters produce shreds that are thinner at the ends than the middle.[citation needed] 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. Hand-grated potatoes, for example, melt together more easily in a potato pancake than food-processed potato shreds.[citation needed]

### In music

In Jamaica and Belize, coconut graters are used as a traditional musical instrument[5] (along with drums, fife, and other instruments) in the performance of kumina, jonkanoo, brukdown, and sometimes mento.

## 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.[6][7] In line with Homer's Iliad, these were sometimes used to grate goat's cheese in the making of a type of Kykeon, a fast-breaking drink.[7]

Early forms of a "modern" grater (by M. Agrappi and B. Scappi)

The origin of our modern graters is disputed. One of the earliest known depictions of a grater that resembles contemporary designs appeared in the Bartolomeo Scappi work, Opera dell'arte del cucinare, illustrated by Milano Agrappi, published in Venice in 1570.[8][9][10] However, most attribute the first "modern" cheese grater to François Boullier in 1540s France.[11] His pewter design was intended to convert hard cheeses into something more edible.[12][13]

## Images

* Cheese grater

* A zester

* A nutmeg grater

* Multiple graters

* Porcelain ginger or garlic grater

* Sharkskin grater

* Traditional coconut grater design in the Indo-Pacific

* Microplane grater

* Combined electric coffee grinder and cheese grater Germany around 1930

## In popular culture

* Kevin Eastman, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, got the idea for the Shredder's armor from large cheese graters which he envisioned on a villainous characters' arms to be used as weapons. Originally called "Grate Man", the Shredder is known as the primary antagonist in the TMNT franchise.[14]
* Wisconsin sports fans are often called cheeseheads, and some wear cheese hats. In 2013, sports fans of Chicago and Minnesota replied to their rivals by wearing cheese graters.[15]

## See also

* Food processor - an appliance that sometimes has a grating blade
* Spiral vegetable slicer - food-processing machine that rotates vegetables against a blade, producing ribbons or noodles
* Mandoline
* Oroshigane
* Surform
* Tamis
* Soap grater

## References

| Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on

* Grater

|

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "The 4 Best Graters of 2025". December 11, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-grater/.
2. ↑ Hutton, Elinor (2020). The Encyclopedia of Kitchen Tools. Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7624-6998-7.
3. ↑ Emma Segrest (December 18, 2023). "Use Your Cheese Grater For An Elevated Egg Salad Experience". https://www.tastingtable.com/1471110/use-cheese-grater-egg-salad.
4. ↑ "Gajar Ka Halwa Recipe". https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/gajar-ka-halwa-9423066.
5. ↑ Brad Fredericks. "American Rhythm and Blues Influence on Early Jamaican Musical Style". http://debate.uvm.edu/dreadlibrary/fredericks.html.
6. ↑ Rosenstock, Eva; Ebert, Julia; Scheibner, Alisa (2021-10-01). "Cultured Milk". Current Anthropology (University of Chicago Press) 62 (S24): S256–S275. doi:10.1086/714961. ISSN 0011-3204.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ridgway, David (1997). "Nestor's Cup and the Etruscans". Oxford Journal of Archaeology (Wiley) 16 (3): 325–344. 2002. doi:10.1111/1468-0092.00044. ISSN 0262-5253.
8. ↑ "The History of the Grater" (in en). https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-history-of-the-grater-museo-del-parmigiano-reggiano/iwWRvDFTRswkIg?hl=en.
9. ↑ Scappi, Bartolomeo (1570), Agrappi, Milano, ed., English: Early Depictions of a "modern" grater, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bartolomeo_Scappi_Works_Grater.png, retrieved 2025-03-07
10. ↑ "Opera Dell'arte Del Cucinare" (in en-US). https://heraldicart.org/opera-dellarte-del-cucinare/.
11. ↑ "Really Grate: The Kathleen Thompson Hill Collection of Cheese Graters" (in en-US). 2021-03-17. https://www.cheeseprofessor.com/blog/antique-cheese-graters.
12. ↑ Andrews, Colman. "The 25 Most Important Inventions In Food And Drink". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/50-most-important-inventions-food-and-drink-2011-3.
13. ↑ Hill, Kathleen Thompson (2011-09-03). "A Grate Look" (in en-US). https://culturecheesemag.com/photo-essay/a-grate-look/.
14. ↑ The Making of 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles': Behind the Shells. 1991.
15. ↑ Cheddar shredder \- Chicago Tribune, 26 December 2013

* v
* t
* e

Cutting and abrasive tools

* Abrasive saw
* Axe
* Blade
* Bandsaw
* Bolt cutter
* Broach
* Ceramic tile cutter
* Chainsaw
* Circular saw
* Chisel
* Coping saw
* Countersink
* Cutting tool
* Diagonal pliers
* Diamond blade
* Diamond tool
* Drawknife
* Drill bit
* Emery cloth
* File
* Fretsaw
* Froe
* Glass cutter
* Grater
* Grinding wheel
* Hacksaw
* Hand saw
* Hole saw
* Incisor
* Knife
* Laser
* Lawn mower
* Machete
* Meat slicer
* Mezzaluna
* Milling cutter
* Miter saw
* Nail clipper
* Nibbler
* Pencil sharpener
* Pipecutter
* Pizza cutter
* Plasma cutter
* Plane
* Pocket knife
* Rasp
* Razor
* Reamer
* Sandpaper
* Saw
* Scalpel
* Scissors
* Snips
* Steel wool
* Surform
* Switchblade
* Tool bit
* Utility knife
* Water jet cutter
* Wire brush
* Wire stripper

Types of tools
Cleaning
Cutting and abrasive
Forestry
Garden
Hand
Kitchen
Machine and metalworking
Masonry
Measuring and alignment
Mining
Power
Textile
Woodworking

* v
* t
* e

Kitchen tools

* Kitchenware
* Cooking vessel
* Cookware and bakeware
* Cutlery
* Dishwashing
* Eating utensils
* Food preparation utensils
* Food storage container
* Tableware
* Teaware

* Apple corer (Apple cutter)
* Baster
* Beanpot
* Blowtorch
* Bottle opener
* Bowl
* Bread knife
* Browning tray
* Butter curler
* Cake and pie server
* Candy thermometer
* Can opener
* Cheese knife
* Cheese slicer
* Cheesecloth
* Chef's knife
* Cherry pitter
* Chinois
* Chopsticks
* Citrus reamer
* Clay pot
* Cleaver
* Colander
* Cookie cutter
* Cookie press
* Corkscrew
* Cutting board
* Edible tableware
* Egg piercer
* Egg separator
* Egg slicer
* Egg timer
* Fat separator
* Fillet knife
* Fish scaler
* Fish slice
* Flour sifter
* Food mill
* Funnel
* Garlic press
* Grapefruit knife
* Grater
* Honey dipper
* Honing steel
* Ladle
* Lame
* Lemon squeezer
* Lobster pick
* Mandoline
* Measuring cup
* Measuring spoon
* Meat grinder
* Meat tenderizer
* Meat thermometer
* Melon baller
* Mezzaluna
* Herb chopper
* Microplane
* Milk frother
* Milk watcher
* Mortar and pestle
* Nutcracker
* Nutmeg grater
* Oven glove
* Pastry bag
* Pastry blender
* Pastry brush
* Pastry wheel
* Peel
* Peeler
* Pepper mill
* Pie bird
* Pineapple cutter
* Pizza cutter
* Potato masher
* Potato ricer
* Potholder
* Poultry shears
* Roller docker
* Rolling pin
* Salt and pepper shakers
* Scissors
* Scoop
* Sieve
* Slotted spoon
* Spatula
* Spider
* Strawberry huller
* Tamis
* Tomato knife
* Tongs
* Trussing needle
* Twine
* Weighing scale
* Whisk
* Wooden spoon
* Scraper
* Dough
* Zester

* Categories
* Kitchenware
* Commons
* Kitchen utensils

Types of tools
Cleaning
Cutting and abrasive
Forestry
Garden
Hand
Kitchen
Machine and metalworking
Masonry
Measuring and alignment
Mining
Power
Textile
Woodworking

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grater. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Engineering:Grater&oldid=3872893"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template