This is one of those items that’s been on my wishlist for awhile now, but I just haven’t gotten around to buying it. It could be because I’ve already got quite a few working graters in the drawer already… but I’ve heard a lot of people swear by this long grater / zester called the Microplane.

Interestingly, Microplane is actually the brand and not the general name of the device (like the brand Band-Aid being a general term for bandages). I think the Food Network has had some responsibility in making the general public aware of this gadget (if I had a nickel for every time Rachel Ray or Alton Brown touts it’s usability…)

The Microplane weighs about a half pound and is about a foot long, with the grater blade being 8 inches long. The plane is made of stainless steel and those micro rasps are really sharp - I think the biggest complaint among users is the fact that you need to be extremely careful with these sharp edges which go all around even on the curled edges of the blade. Occasional grated knuckles may be a hazard as a result.

If you’re careful, however, this seems like a great grater (pun intended) to churn out both citrus zest and shavings of harder types of cheese. I’ve also heard people use it to make grated onions (try grating an onion on a traditional grater, ugh) and minced ginger. It makes really fine shavings of everything though, so this is definitely not something to use in order to make decoration or presentation bits and pieces of cheese or citrus peel.