There are a number of kitchen gadgets that make our lives easier, and the classic grater is up there.
However, people are often surprised to learn they've been using common appliances all wrong, and this has now been the case with the cheese grater. From using the hole in spaghetti spoons to measure portion size to extending dishwashers to fit tall glasses, there's lots of clever tricks not everyone knows about.
But the latest revelation might just be the most useful of all, as it explains what has long remained a mystery for many, the Mirror reports.
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People are only just realising the different uses for each side of a box grater and it's blowing their minds. While it should be obvious that each side is used to grate food, many people have been stumped by the fourth side, which has small holes with sharpened, outwards ridges.
This was true of one Reddit user, who took to the website to ask how to use the side with smallest holes. The post shared to Casual UK, alongside a picture of the side in question, was captioned: "Does anybody ever use this part of the grater? What is it even for??"
In a comment, the author added: "All this has ever done is hurt my hand, but I've literally never used those smalls hole graters ever. Pretty much just use the other side for making grated cheese." And it turns out he was not the only one who had struggled with the answer.
An equally confused commenter wrote: "I have this exact one... and I've also assumed it was to make the cheese bit smaller after grating. All it does though however, is f*** your hand up". Another Reddit user said: "Very handy for shredding cleaning sponges."
Thankfully, a number of savvy chefs also shared their tips.
One reply read: "Yea but took years to figure out, Parmesan and lemon/orange/ lime zest is best shredded on those 2 sides." A second said: "Zest hard cheese or garlic nutmeg maybe ginger to make like a paste." And someone else added: "Potato pancakes come out great with this side!"
According to MarthaStewart.com, "The smaller shredding holes are designed to finely grate cheese, chocolate, vegetables, and more."
Then the smallest holes can be used to make fine strands of cheese that will easily dissolve into salad dressings or sauces, or like Reddit users suggested, to zest citrus and grate nutmeg.
Meanwhile, the side with wide slots is used for slicing. And the side with the largest shredding holes, the one many of us use most, is designed for semi-hard cheese, carrots and apples.
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