My least used kitchen gadget

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I don't even have one. If I need thin slices I just use a knife.
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A microplane is not for slicing (that's a mandolin). A microplane is a super sharp grater - they come in different types (fine, medium, coarse etc.). They are perfect for grating ginger and garlic and parmesan as well as zesting citrus. There are other brand names besides microplane but there are also cheap imitations which are not worth bothering with. This is a coarse one.

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Morning Glory said:
A microplane is not for slicing (that's a mandolin). A microplane is a super sharp grater - they come in different types (fine, medium, coarse etc.). They are perfect for grating ginger and garlic and parmesan as well as zesting citrus. There are other brand names besides microplane but there are also cheap imitations which are not worth bothering with. This is a coarse one.

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Dyslexia strikes again.
But no. I have a nutmeg grater for nutmeg and use the very fine side of the cheese grater for citrus, though we do now have a dedicated citrus zester for that as well.
As for ginger, it goes through either the coffee grinder or the garlic press...
Parmesan is kind of not necessary here.
 
I have another brand from Amazon. The container leaks, so instead of trying to replace it, I'm just gonna by a Vitamix blender. :whistling:
 
Funny - first time I heard of a microplane, I thought it might be a miniature version of a Cessna...
I´ve actually got two, but they´re used infrequently, I suppose.
I never trained as a chef - God Forbid, far too complicated for me - but I´ve done quite a few events over the last 20-odd years and, making chutneys, marmalades, etc., really taught me some knife skills. I use a chef´s knife for most tasks; garlic, ginger, slicing potatoes, carrots - gadgets I only use if I´ve got a really large amount of stuff to process.
 
Here are my microplanes, they came as a set:

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The one on the left I use the most, though the others get used frequently enough. I use the middle one, for example, to flake off a couple of tablespoons of Parmesan cheese to put in my creamy buttermilk salad dressing.
 
karadekoolaid said:
Funny - first time I heard of a microplane, I thought it might be a miniature version of a Cessna...
I´ve actually got two, but they´re used infrequently, I suppose.
I never trained as a chef - God Forbid, far too complicated for me - but I´ve done quite a few events over the last 20-odd years and, making chutneys, marmalades, etc., really taught me some knife skills. I use a chef´s knife for most tasks; garlic, ginger, slicing potatoes, carrots - gadgets I only use if I´ve got a really large amount of stuff to process.
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I use one almost everyday at work. They're good for certain purposes that knife skills can't match and they're a time saver big time when comparing to dispatching the same ingredients with a knife. A few examples. Garlic for adding to my home made garlic mayo, lemon zest, and parmesan that drops like freshly fallen snow or the ash from Mr. Vesuvius, depending on how aggressive the push is. . That's been my experience.
 
I had no idea Microplane was a brand. I used to call every kind of grater a Microplane.
 
garlichead said:
They're good for certain purposes that knife skills can't match and they're a time saver big time when comparing to dispatching the same ingredients with a knife.
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Agreed. I actually timed myself grating garlic against Jacques "The Fastest Knife In The West" Pepin (in his prime, no less), and I beat him. :wink:
 
Speaking of microplanes and creamy buttermilk dressing, I took a mid-assembly pic of the batch I made for later tonight:

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The fine grater made short work of two cloves of garlic and about a tablespoon of parm - less than 45 seconds.
 
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