A Swiss-brand, Victorinox has fully embraced its national red shade for this collection edition and it really works, but a silver edition is also available. So, other than ease of use and that sharpness of the blade, what else should you be thinking about when looking for the perfect grater? Grating chillies is an clever way to add a subtle hint of heat to a dish whilst side-stepping unexpected chunks. In testing, we found both the larger holes and slicer were ideal for prepping ingredients like cheese, carrots and courgettes, while the finer side made light work of grating parmesan and ginger. It can handle other ingredients like cheese and veggies too, but only modest quantities as the surface area is much smaller than a standard grater.

ZWILLING 1009797 Z-Cut Stainless Steel Multi-Grater

On its own, this is a practical bit of kit for transforming cheese and vegetables into small, slim curls thanks to its sharply etched square notches.

Extra functions: we looked for graters that were collapsible or had handy extras, like clever storage capacity. With a rubber bottom and handle, the risk of a slip up is greatly reduced, which means nails and finger tips should stay intact. We also found that some old crusty bread grated well to make breadcrumbs for a crispy topping to fish pie. Its soft-grip handle is slightly contoured to balance in the hand and there’s a non-slip foot at the other end which grips and protects surfaces. The only downside is the container isn’t as large, which means putting your week’s worth of grated cheese for the kids’ sandwiches in a separate tub.

Multifunctional Grater – idearock 4 in 1 Multifunctional Grater – idearock

If you’re looking for a nifty item that allows you to grate one item then slice another, there are plenty of gadgets that cater to simultaneous cheese grating and potato slicing. The best cheese grater will have sharp stainless steel blades and will enable to you lightly press cheese against the blades and require a relatively effortless up and down motion. This sits nicely in the hand whilst you zest downwards onto a chopping board; its sharp little corners softened by two anti-scratch silicone feet. If kitchen space for storage is at a premium, hand-held graters with hanging loops are excellent alternatives.

Sharpness: we looked for a blade that made uniform shavings in one clean sweep, not blunt blades that were awkward to manoeuvre. Zesters will take the top layer of flavourful citrus peel and can also be used for chomping through fibrous aromatics like ginger, or mincing garlic without a press. You want sharp notches that won’t tear or shred the ingredient, and asks for minimal effort on your part. The blade itself is photo-etched, so you can count on its sharp little teeth catching trickier angles. With the added bonus of the box base which catches your grated food, this is a pretty nifty kitchen item.

The best graters and microplanes | Real Homes

Microplanes are incredibly handy for grating lemon zest, chocolate and even garlic, to ensure small flakes of grated ingredients that are easy to distribute.

As well as a side with nice big, sharp holes for coarse grating things like cheese, courgettes and carrots, there’s also a finer side for grating ingredients like parmesan and ginger, and a slice function to cut single slices of ingredients like cheese, cucumber, carrot and radish. Its blades are incredibly sharp, which made light work of hard vegetables like carrots – thankfully it comes with a reusable blade cover to keep fingers safe when delving into kitchen draws. Its acid etched teeth are a similar size to those of the Microplane and are ever-so slightly more raised, allowing it to bite into crisp ingredients more efficiently than any others we tested. Those who cook with a lot of fresh ginger will know the faff often involved with peeling, slicing and grating. Firstly, Cuisipro have stepped it up a notch to include two additional sides, offering you six grating options and allowing you to refine the way in which you grate your ingredients.

Fackelmann Universal Multi-Functional Grater, Tinplate

Why you can trust Real Homes Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. A fine, medium, coarse and slice grater is included in the set; all of which are sharp and have a rubber foot to help protect your chopping board. The depth of grate was perfect for prepping ingredients for courgette fritters, but also tackled potato and onion easily for hash browns that we cooked in a frying pan. Secondly, the patented design has been optimised to allow you to grate even the largest of quantities as efficiently as possible. Because of its width, the slicer produces slithers of varying shapes where you have to turn the vegetable, but we didn’t mind that.But for the more adventurous, BBC Good Food Magazines editor and judge of the World Cheese Awards, Keith Kendrick, shares his picks of the best cheese subscription boxes.