Despite its name, a Microplane isn’t a cosmetics tool or a jet for mice but rather a long, handheld grater used to finely shave items like garlic and ginger, or even cinnamon sticks for topping your favorite fall beverage.
But real talk, does your kitchen junk drawer actually need another tchotchke you saw some influencer on Instagram use that you’re kind of unsure of what it’s good for?
Listen I get it, but here’s the scoop on how to create a flavor explosion— something next level that will blow away your significant other, roommate, or whoever it is you may be stuck quarantining with.
Microplanes are long flat rods of stainless steel with tiny (or micro) razor-sharp grooves. The handle allows you to take a firm grip so you can hold and swipe a desired item for grating which could be anything from cheese, chocolate, garlic, ginger, citrus peel, or you name it. The key is that the items ‘ planned will be very fine and ideal for adding thickness or hints of flavor to a dish.
If chopping up ginger into minuscule pieces sounds tedious, that’s what this thing is clutch for. Not to mention if you are making something that calls for garlic, ‘plane those peeled suckers and see how much they dissolve into your favorite sauce or marinade. Microplanes make a little go a long way. They are also ideal for zesting citrus since they are small enough to not dig into the bitter part of the peel but take off the good stuff on the top layer of the skin. You can also try microplaning hard chocolate to add a little powdery dusting of heaven to whatever the hell you want.
Still not convinced as to why you wouldn’t use a regular cheese grater? Those things are mad clunky! Most box graters also do not include a size comparable to a Microplane. The beauty of the craftsmanship of Microplanes is that they are designed to be extremely sharp so things seem to effortlessly glide across their shiny grooves creating soft pillowy puffs of cheese shavings or fine dustings of lemon zest. Pro-tip is to remember that because microplates themselves can’t be sharpened, save it for the softer things in life and use your janky old regular grater on rougher things like carrots.
So the next time you are 40 items deep into your Amazon cart or aimlessly wandering around Williams-Sonoma, perhaps add a Microplane to your cart, because do you really need embroidered cat napkins or a walnut cheese board?
