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We all know and love the classic Microplane grater and zester, which, other than zesting citrus, is good for odd jobs like turning a block of hard cheese into a fluffy pile, dusting cinnamon on a hot drink, or even trimming a frozen cake into the shape of a doughnut. I use mine regularly, but over the past few months, I've found myself reaching for a new style of Microplane grater: the 3-in-1 ginger tool. Here's why the combination grater, slicer, and peeler has become my go-to utensil:
1. It Grates Ginger Like Nothing Else
Unlike the rectangular teeth of the rasp-style zester, the ginger tool has triangular teeth that enables it to shave through the fibrous stem of ginger root more cleanly. It also doesn't have backside grooves, so there's nowhere for the ginger fibers to get stuck. When I first used the tool, I marveled at the pile of fluffy ginger it produced—so much so that I grated too far too fast and nicked my finger, which leads to the second reason why I love the tool.
2. It Works Fast
The finer, sharper, closely laid out teeth of the 3-in-1 tool make grating ginger not only easy, but fast. Often, when I use a rasp (again, rectangular teeth) I get to a point where ginger pieces are stuck to the backside, the holes are clogged up, and no more ginger will grate no matter how many times I run the root up and down the plank. The new tool let me grate through a two-inch piece of ginger without stopping.
3. It's Multi-Functional
Yes, the tool is made for grating ginger, but it also works well with turmeric and garlic, the latter of which grates to an even finer paste than when grated with a rasp. Don't forget its two other built-in functions: slicing and peeling. The slicer works like a miniature Japanese mandoline—an angled blade on the end shaves the ginger into paper thin rounds (or longer planks if you shave it from the side). What else can it shave? Anything that'll fit: radishes, carrots, shallots, small cucumbers, garlic, the white end of a scallion.
The peeler is situated off the side of the grater and peels away papery skin, just the way a spoon would. It's nothing revolutionary, but if you use it instead of a spoon, you're dirtying one less piece of equipment.
4. It's Tiny
The ginger tool is one long plank. There's no bulbous handle or raised sides. There is a small guard for the blade, but it's flush with ridges. You could find a place for this tool in any drawer—or, since it has a small hole at the end, any hook—in your kitchen.
So while I'll hold onto my zester for when I need to trim frozen cake and my ribbon grater for whenever I'm feeling fancy, I have a feeling my ginger tool is bound to become a new essential for quicker, cleaner, more ginger-loaded weeknight cooking.
