Microplane Professional Medium-Ribbon Two-Way Grater

* AN ALL-METAL FRAME--makes it awesomely durable for heavy duty use. For grating lots of carrots as additions to ground meat or to soups, this grater is tops.
* A RUBBER REST OPPOSITE THE HANDLE--makes it ergonomically more efficient, since you can rest the end on a cutting board or in a bowl, allowing you to use more pressure.
* A PROTECTIVE SHIELD FOR THE GRATING SURFACE--makes it easier to store safely.
* TWO-WAY GRATING--makes it faster, since cutting edges face both ways.

DOWNSIDE: Two way grating means that this grater is inherently less safe. Now you can cut yourself both ways! Also, unless you're "grating" something that melts under hot water, such as butter or chocolate, this two way cutting feature makes this model harder to clean: Bits of carrot or apple stuck between the "blades" cannot be removed by running your fingers the opposite direction from the cutting edge. A wooden toothpick or an old toothbrush (brush from side to side, not top to bottom) will do the trick.

BOTTOM LINE: This may well have a valued place in your kitchen, but it isn't the first one to buy.


We'd give it 10 stars if you had 'em, lol   July 27, 2003
 20 out of 21 found this review helpful

We're definitely ordering this RIGHT NOW after trying one at a friend's house [unfortunately she paid A LOT more for it than the price I paid fabulous price].
Beats us how a company can make a perfect product even better, but Microplane managed it :::
[1] We already have 3 different 'original' design flat graters (purchased here & all still available, I believe). The 'originals' -- basically one-way grating -- still seem best to us for unusually hard things (e.g. nutmeg) or otherwise fairly difficult ones (e.g. fresh ginger).
[2] For THIS newer two-way design, we'd say the description given in the product entry here is right on. It's ideal for somewhat softer foods, especially those you normally wouldn't even consider grating -- yikes, like a stick of butter?! This thing is so fast & efficient that butter-chocolate-soft cheese-etc barely has time enough to go all icky-gooey on ya. SUPER for obtaining taste with *serious* portion control if you're on one of those hideous physician-mandated restricted-everything diets, as we are.
[3] The nicest feature of this newer design is that little extension opposite the handle. Makes it easier to rest the grater flat on the edge of a bowl or a vertical-rimmed plate when using it.
[4] Bottom line: in our opinion & experience, any or ALL of the Microplane flat graters are just plain NECESSITIES, not luxuries, for every kitchen.