Not sure that I’ve posted about this before. Its one of those kitchen gadgets that I’m actually getting a lot of use out of, and didn’t think I would.  I find myself not only using it for zesting lemons and limes, but also for garlic, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon sticks.

What Is It?

A microplane!

Basically, its  handheld grater.  The one I have is the zester, and I use it for all the things I mentioned above.  They have various others like the medium grater and the coarse grater, but this one pretty much fills the need for what I use it for.

Why I Like It

– Its narrow and fits in drawers very easily
– Durable and stays sharp (I’ve been using this one for well over a year)
– Makes a nice fine zest
– Easy to hold
– Long enough to fit over various sizes of bowls and pots

They seem a bit pricey ($17.00 – $22.00) but they are well worth it in my opinion.

I had a larger handheld grater a long time ago and it went dull very fast.  I may look into the coarse Microplane grater, as that would be better for things like Parmesan cheese.

I hate breaking out a box grater whenever I need to do a little bit of something.  I’ve grated my knuckles way too many times!

QUESTION!  Do you have a microplane?  If not, what’s your favorite small kitchen gadget?