Emma Miller
When preparing your favorite side dishes and stir-frying, you can’t do without the grater. Almost every family has this device, and it costs a pittance! But – the miracle – not everyone knows how to use the grater properly in the kitchen.
What is the purpose of each side of the grater – the first use in the kitchen
Let’s figure it out. A regular grater has two “rough” sides. With bottom-up – top-down motions, we literally rub vegetables against these sides.
In stores, you can find and grater hexagonal – for what each side? All for the same – vegetables and produce. True, not everyone uses the holes for their intended purpose. For example, on this grater can grate products slides, stars, large slices (like french fries), and wavy “chips”, also allows shredding cabbage.
What is the smallest grater for? For slicing garlic, onions, and potatoes. The fine edges turn hard vegetables into wet mush. Ask then, what is the prickly side on the grater for? It’s the base of the appliance, the “heart” of the whole process. Well really, you can’t grate food on a smooth surface, can you?
Remember, new grates are very sharp and can hurt your fingers.
What you can grate on the grater – choose the right holes
Not all products can be grated. For example, you will not prepare meat in this way, the same with butter – it will simply “drown” in the plates. In order not to make a mistake and not spoil the dish, it is important to know what to grate on the grater:
- Potatoes. Unlike other products, grated potatoes turn out very tender. Grating is mandatory if you, for example, conceived of derniki: the resulting mass we use as “dough”, should turn out watery.
- Onions. This ingredient can be grated both on a plate with small holes (then it turns into a mush), and on large ones (full-fledged roasting) – depending on the dish that you cook.
- Carrots. In this case, it is advised to grate carrots on a large plate – the juice of the vegetables is stored inside and saturates other products with it during cooking.
- Butter. It should be noted that butter can be rubbed only in frozen form, as well as melted cheese.
- Boiled Eggs. For cooking salads, eggs should not be grated (neither on a large nor on a small plate – only to spoil everything), but for the decoration of the side dishes – you can, but only on large holes.
- Cabbage. Cabbage, too, can be prepared for the dish on the grater – use the slicer attachment.
- Fish. You can grate fish (under the tap, of course) – use the prickliest side for this.
When grating foods, always consider special attachments that will help you to cut the ingredients correctly.
Recommendations on how to work with a grater
Although the grater is the most common appliance in many kitchens, even experienced cooks do not always follow these rules:
- Secure the grater to a work surface and lubricate it with oil. This will help you how to avoid injuries to the hand and prevent the spilling of food around the kitchen.
- Very slowly (if the situation does not rush you) and carefully grate vegetables or meat, so that your finger is not suddenly in the bowl with the products.
- It is advisable to rinse the grater after each ingredient – otherwise, you will get meat with a raw onion taste.
- If you have a hand grater – then take care to grate the vegetables directly over the dishes – this will make it easier for you to clean the kitchen after cooking.
And remember – the quality of the whole dish depends on your grating skills.
