A grater cooking experience

Heather Little-White, PhD, Contributor

Graters are useful additions to your collection of kitchen utensils. They are versatile and can be used on a range of food products especially cheese and vegetables. From the preparation of a simple meal to an elaborate spread with delicate finishing touches.

Types of graters

Graters come in many different sizes and shapes. A grater with a coarse blade is ideal for grating apples for pie or chocolate for dessert. One with a fine blade grates parmesan for pasta or ginger for curry. A slicing blade lets you create even slices of cucumber for salad or potato for casseroles and, with the prickly-looking grinding blade, you can grind citrus peel for a tart or spices like nutmeg.

There are all-purpose graters with multiple blades and there are specialised ones for specific jobs.

Hard-cheese graters are conveniently sized and fit neatly into your hand. They are designed for use at the table and to let you grate hard cheese such as parmesan straight over your meal. These graters are usually less suitable for softer cheeses like cheddar, which could easily clog the blade.

All-purpose box graters are the most versatile, and the type you use for grating larger quantities of food if you do not have a food processor. Box graters are most popular today as they offer you different grating options on either of their four sides for under $300. Some come with an attached storage container to grate the food into while others have a base, or simply collect the grated food in the middle while you rest them on a cutting board.

Flat graters are ideal for grating smaller quantities of food while cooking - just a little parmesan into the risotto, for example, or a bit of garlic and ginger into the stir-fry. They are generally lightweight, easy to hold and to clean, and take up little room in a utensils drawer.

Rotary graters tend to be bothersome to assemble and to clean, but are convenient for grating nuts, spices or pieces of chocolate, because you do not have the risk of cutting your fingertips while grating.

Caution!

Grating food requires the same degree of caution as cutting meat, filleting fish or any other food-preparation work that involves a sharp implement. Graters can easily shave the top off your knuckles if you are careless or grate slippery food right down to the end. Some flat graters have a protective cover or grating guard. Exercise safety in the use of graters for persons with disabilities with hand weakness, vision or mental impairment.

A grater for everything

Purpose-made graters are made for specific foods like coconut, cheese, nutmeg and for fruits. I like ginger graters, which are generally either wooden or ceramic and are novel items you will find in Asian food stores or kitchenware shops. Porcelain ginger graters (also known as Japanese graters) or bamboo ginger graters are flat graters with a series of small teeth facing both upward and downward so that when ginger is drawn across the surface, it will be finely grated, leaving the coarse, fibrous strands behind. Ginger is one of the world's most important and commonly used spices.

How To Grate Fresh Ginger Root

Peel fresh ginger root with a small, sharp paring knife, a chopping board and a grater. Grip the grater with one hand and the fresh ginger with the other and move in rapid strokes upward and downward or backward and forward across the finest hole of the surface of the grater. Continue until you have the desired amount according to your recipe. The knobby root of fresh ginger is associated with a number of different cuisines to add fragrance, and spice to meats, poultry, fish and vegetable dishes.

Ginger Chicken Kebabs

Soak six bamboo skewers in cold water for at least an hour before use, to prevent them scorching and splintering.

10 ounces (300g) chicken breast fillets, chopped coarsely

1tbs green-ginger wine

1tbs salt-reduced soy sauce

1tsp vegetable oil

2tsp Worcestershire sauce

2tsp brown sugar

1tsp Dijon mustard

1tsp grated fresh ginger

Sliced scallion tops to serve (optional)

Method:

1. Combine chicken and remaining ingredients in large bowl. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

2. Preheat grill. Thread chicken on to skewers and reserve marinade. Cook under grill, brushing with marinade, until chicken is tender.

3. Serve kebabs sprinkled with sliced scallion tops, if desired.

Serve with steamed rice and your choice of mixed steamed vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and carrot.

Source: The goodcook.hubpages.com