What are the small holes on a grater for? People are just realising the true purpose

Home cooks only just discover what the ‘hazardous’ star-shaped fourth side of a grater should be used for – so are you using it the right way?

The fourth side of a kitchen grater with the ‘spiky’ holes is often used the least
Now thousands online are only just discovering its true purpose
A conversation started when a Reddit user asked for an explanation
Many online joked it’s for ‘ruining sponges’ or ‘slicing your knuckles open’
But home cooks said it’s for grating hard cheese, lemon zest, garlic and ginger

By Carina Stathis For Daily Mail Australia

The ‘spiky’ star-shaped side of kitchen graters are often used the least. But now thousands are just discovering its purpose

Thousands of home cooks have only just discovered the ‘true purpose’ of the most misunderstood side of a grater.

While the handy kitchen gadget is typically used to grate cheese and vegetables, the star-shaped side hardly ever used.

The side, dubbed the ‘zesting side’ is used for making lemon and lime zest and grating hard cheese, spices and garlic.

A conversation sparked online when a Reddit user asked what the ‘spiky’ side is used for.

‘Does anybody ever use this part of the grater? What is it even for??’ the Redditor wrote and posted an image to show the rough, raspy holes.

Many joked it’s for ‘ruining sponges’ or ‘slicing your knuckles open’, but several home cooks explained its benefits.

‘Zest hard cheese or garlic nutmeg maybe ginger to make like a paste,’ one person wrote.

‘Potato pancakes come out great with this side!’ another added.

A third said: ‘Parmesan and lemon/orange/lime zest is best shredded on those two sides.’

‘Garlic and ginger according to Jamie [Oliver] the other night,’ a fourth wrote.

How do you use each side of a box grater?

Grating side: Use this side to grate thick ribbons on cheese, tomatoes and even frozen butter

Shredding side: This side has holes that are slightly smaller than the first. Scrape a block of cheese or a cucumber along this side for smaller, finer shards of food.

Slicing side: This side has one to three sharp slicing blades that can produce slabs of cheese, vegetables, or firm fruits

Zesting side: The star-shaped spikes are for shaving zest off citrus fruits. It can also be used to grate spices like nutmeg and cinnamon sticks, and Parmesan into fine pebbles.

Source: TheKitchn

And the tips are backed up by professionals.

According to MarthaStewart.com, the ‘smaller shredding holes are designed to finely grate cheese, chocolate, vegetables, and more’.

‘It should produce a consistency so fine that the cheese easily dissolves into salad dressings, sauces, and casseroles.’

It can also be added to risotto, pasta dishes, fresh salads, and soups.

The ‘cheese dust’ looks like pre-grated hard cheese sold in tubs at supermarkets.

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk