The Best Box Graters (Review) in 2020

What to Look for in a Kitchen Grater

As with all things in life, not all kitchen graters are created equal. In order to get the best grater for your money, you’ll want to consider some of the biggest differences between each one and decide which type best fits in with your home and cooking style. And, while they will no doubt all have their own additional quirks and features, the main variants come down to the following:

• Surface area

The larger the surface area, the less time you’ll spend doing your back-and-forth motion over the front of your grater. It might not seem like a big deal, but it can make your job much easier, requires less effort overall, and essentially cuts down the time you spend grating.

• Sharpness

Naturally, any item in the kitchen that deals with cutting into food, in one way or another, will need to be sharp. The best kitchen graters will be sharp enough that you shouldn’t have to put in any real effort into pushing your ingredients into the grater itself, which can eventually cause your grater to become even duller.

• Sturdiness

There are few things more frustrating that a piece of equipment that moves around under you, as you use it. Getting a grater that is sturdy enough to hold itself well, as you put pressure against it can mean you’re less likely to make a mess while preparing your meals. It will also save your hands from any slips, cuts, and nips from your new equipment.

• Grades

It’s unusual for a box grater to come with any less than four different grades- but, if you’re looking for a professional-grade hand grater, you may want to look for one with more sides than this. Each surface should offer a different grating style, such as shredding or slicing. The more there are, the less likely you’ll need to change between equipment in the kitchen.

• Cleaning

A big factor in your happiness with a kitchen grater will likely be how easy they are to clean. If you’re able to get a dishwasher-safe grater for your kitchen, then it’s advisable to do so. Otherwise, we have a few tricks up our sleeve which can help you with tougher graters.

• Features

While they aren’t the most important aspect, it’s definitely nice to have some handy features on your vegetable grater. The first of which is the comfort of the handle. You’ll notice that some items in our top picks come with ergonomic or rubber handles, which make them much easier to work with, as they improve overall grip as well as sturdiness, without any extra effort on your part.

Another feature you might want in your hand grater is having the ability to store your new item easily. Kitchen graters have a tendency to take up a lot of room- especially if you don’t use them too often, or if you simply have a smaller kitchen- and can get in the way of other items you might make more use of. If this describes you, then you might want to look into getting a foldable grater, which can make it so much easier to store.

You can also opt for a hand grater that comes with built-in storage for your ingredients- meaning that, once you’ve grated, shredded, or zested to your heart's content, you won’t have to fuss around cleaning up your mess.

• Personal preference

Eventually, the best hand grater for you will come down to your lifestyle and personal preference. If you prefer to use a micro-plane, then you should absolutely go for it. If, however, you like to have a little versatility in your cooking and want to try out as many different methods as possible, you should go for a more professional, multiple-sided box grater that will cater for those choices.

Mixing and matching the above options is the best way to ensure you get a grater that you are more likely to use, over time. There’s no wrong answer here, and you should go with what you feel the most comfortable with.

Why You Should Buy a Box Grater

• Makes short work of time-consuming tasks

Hand slicing and cutting up ingredients to meet your preferred taste and match recipes takes a lot of time, having something in your drawer that you can whip out at a moment’s notice and play around with can cut your meal prep time down, considerably.

• Fewer nicks and cuts

The design of graters works to ensure that you spend more time breaking down fruit, vegetables and cheeses, and less time catching yourself with your knife. A sturdy grater will help you save your hands, while easily slicing through those tough veggies.

• Save money

Getting food that has already been prepared is an unnecessary expense. Buying pre-grated cheese or sliced carrots costs more money, simply for the convenience of getting it cut. Save yourself some money by getting this fairly cheap bit of kit, which will do the same thing and cost you less money, overall.

How to Use a Grater

There are a few minor differences in the way you use each surface of your box grater, but they all come under the same umbrella of motion, so we’ll stick with that. In order to effectively grate (finely or coarsely), slice and zest simply hold your grater, upright or at an angle (depending on which feels better to you), and keep your grip on the top handle nice and firm to avoid too much movement.

Then, gently press your ingredient against your chosen wall and move it up and down, so that the teeth of the grater catch the fruit, vegetable, spice or cheese of your choice. If you aren’t getting the result you want, alter the pressure you use with your moving hand, while still ensuring too much pressure isn’t placed on the teeth- as this can dull your grater.

Box Graters FAQ:

Q: What is a box grater?

A: A good box grater is much more than a standard cheese grater. Kitchen graters can be used on just about any fruit, vegetable or cheese and have multiple different slicing and grating surfaces that allow for just about any semi-soft ingredient to be utilized in multiple recipes.

Whether it’s the classically designed four-walled boxed graters, the one-handed versatile grater or a professional-style six-walled grater, there’s an adaptability that is often overlooked in the humble food grater. As an example, the traditional four-walled grater will usually come with a side for shredding items, to create grated ingredients. Another side will be to finely grate, which you may need to use if you’re serving something that requires a delicate topping, such as parmesan cheese or nutmeg. The third side will help with slicing and can save you considerable time when cutting up vegetables for your main. Finally, there’s the option of shredding, which is ideal for items such as garlic.

The different textures and tastes that you can create from these options is almost endless when you consider how many recipes require chopped, diced and blended ingredients so you should, hopefully, be able to see why the humble grater is a great addition to any kitchen.

Q: How do I clean my boxed grater?

A: We all know how annoying it can be to clean your grater- as amazing as they are for food prep, you may not want to see your sponge shredded into little pieces. Of course, prevention is better than a cure, so before you start to use your hand grater, start by adding a little bit of oil to the surface. Rubbing in a little nut, vegetable or olive oil over the serrated edge shouldn’t have too much of an effect on the taste of your food but can make it a lot easier when it comes to clean-up.

Once you’re done with your food prep, rinse your grater under warm water. If you’ve used our oil trick, you should notice how easily all that leftover food comes away from the sharp edges. That said, it’s possible that there will be some stubborn areas (especially if you haven’t used oil over the surface, first). In this case, you should get yourself a basting brush and give these tougher areas a good scrub- don’t worry if you don’t have one of these, however, as a standard toothbrush will also do a great job.

If you still have some tough spots after doing this, then let your grater soak in some warm, soapy water for a while and try again after a few hours.

Finally, allow your grater to drain naturally on your dish draining board. Trying to use a hand towel at this point can often lead to fabric getting stuck on the raised areas, leaving your grater dirty and towels ruined.

Q: How to prevent your stainless-steel grater from rusting

A: A good grater is unlikely to start rusting unless it has been left in a damp place or not allowed to dry thoroughly before putting it away. So, in order to avoid signs of rust, you should first start by finding an appropriate place to store your hand grater which is, like most things, best kept in a cool, dark space. You should also ensure that your grater is dishwasher-safe, as some steel-plated coatings can wear off through using these, leaving you with a grater that is more prone to rusting.

If you’ve already started to notice spots of rust appearing on your grater, use the following directions to get your item back up to a healthy, usable ability:

1. Begin by scrubbing away any dirt and debris with a scrubbing brush, or some steel wool
2. Rinse your grater, to wash away the loose dirt that has come away
3. Squeeze yourself some fresh lemon juice and place your grater within an appropriate tub, to allow your grater to soak in the juice for a few minutes. If you don’t have any lemons to hand, white vinegar will also work wonderfully, especially when combined with baking soda.
4. Rinse your grater again, which should now be free of rust stains
5. Wash your grater with a mild soap in warm water
6. Allow to air dry

Don’t forget, if you’re having problems with damp in your home, you can always keep your clean, dry cutlery and small stainless-steel goods in an airtight container, which will help to protect them from moisture and improve their longevity.

Q: Can I sharpen my food grater?

A: Absolutely, but this can be a little awkward and time-consuming. If you’re looking to sharpen your food grater, your best bet is to use a very fine sanding paper and to gently go over the front side of the surface of your grater. Be sure to wash this thoroughly, afterwards, as fine pieces of metal is not something you would want in your food.

You can also take a tip from the book of sharpening your blender blades and crush up egg shells until they are in a fine dust. Once you’ve done this, you should be able to move your grater across the dusted egg shells or use some steel wool that is covered in your new cleaning product. Vigorously wipe over the front of your grater and the shells will work to sharpen your grater.

A good way to avoid your grater becoming dull, however, is to follow a few, simple rules. The first is to try not to put too much pressure on your grater, as you prepare your ingredients Too much pressure will slowly push your raised areas toward the main surface area, which gives a dulling effect, despite the actual grater still being just as sharp as ever.

You should also use an appropriate cover, if one came with your item, when not in use. This will protect the “blades” from dulling through contact with other utensils. Finally, try not to use a dishwasher to clean your grater, as this usually causes your new equipment to bang around, leading to damaged areas on the surface of your hand grater.

Our Top Pick

Given our list of priorities- being ease-of-use, sturdiness, effectiveness and price- Spring Chef easily came at the top of our wish list in every area, which is why we have named the stainless-steel box grater from Spring Chef our top pick.

Designed to remain steadfast and work with you on your meal prep, this is one of the best products to use thanks to its design features, such as the rubber base and ergonomic handle. This is a great grater for big families, or simply those who like to host, as the large surface area and sharp teeth make short work of even the toughest vegetables.