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Microplane 40020 Classic Zester/Grater

by Microplane
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (657 customer reviews)

Price: $12.95 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Sold by MMP Living and Fulfilled by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
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  • Designed to extract the best flavor from your food
  • High-quality 18/8 stainless steel with grating edges that stay razor sharp
  • Excellent for hard cheeses, onions, citrus fruits, ginger and more
  • Blade measures 8-1/2-Inch long; ergonomic black plastic handle
  • Dishwasher safe; hand wash cover
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Frequently Bought Together

Microplane 40020 Classic Zester/Grater + Norpro Stainless-Steel Citrus Juice Press
Price for both: $33.64

Buy the selected items together


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  • Buy Used and Save: Get the "Microplane 40020 Classic Zester/Grater" for a lot less. Amazon Warehouse Deals offers deep discounts on open-box or used versions of this item. Products are eligible for Amazon's 30-day returns policy and Prime or Super Saver Shipping. See all Used offers from Amazon Warehouse Deals.

Product Details

  • Product Dimensions: 12 x 1.3 x 1 inches ; 3.5 ounces
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
  • ASIN: B00004S7V8
  • Item model number: 40020
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (657 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
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Product Description

Amazon.com

For fluffy, evenly sized cheese shreds, this is the perfect grater. Its design is based on that of a rasp, the small and efficient woodworking tool. The cutters are especially sharp, which guarantees easy grating. But this also means you'll need to exercise extra caution--no one likes grated knuckles. The large handle allows for a firm grip, and the completely flat grating surface makes it easy to move the cheese across the blades. Carrots, onions, and medium to firm cheeses all worked beautifully with this grater. It's also an excellent choice for larger strips of citrus zest or ginger. --Jill Lightner

Product Description

Originally a woodworking tool, the Microplane Zester/Grater is a best seller. It grates even the hardest Parmesan Reggiano as well as other hard cheeses into fine lacy wisps. Ideal for topping your favorite spaghetti and meatballs or a Caesar salad. It's


Customer Reviews

Very easy to use and clean. "casbmorris"  |  137 reviewers made a similar statement
I've had one for years that I love and have bought for friends and family. kjf  |  74 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
639 of 655 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I'd bought this grater MONTHS ago! August 16, 2000
I purchased this after spending 2 hours zesting limes for a gourmet cookie recipe with the traditional potato-peeler+ food processor method. The most time consuming part is carefully scraping way all the white pith on the inside of the peel. The pith is very bitter and can ruin your recipe. This zester did the same job in 30 seconds and didn't even touch the pith. Just pure, perfect lime zest with no effort. Totally worth its weight in gold. Now I can make those cookies again without my hands cramping up after hours scraping the peels. Who has time for that?

I've also started using it for grating parmesan. Definately takes Ceaser salads and pasta up a notch. I'm purchasing several more as gifts for my friends. Would make an incredible (and cheap) holiday/birthday gift for anyone, even the casual cook. Please note that the size of the grated zest or cheese is very fine and not ideal as a garnish. Parmesan or Romano grated with this tool melts quickly into the pasta, and doesn't lend much to the presentation. Tastes great, but hard to see. If you're looking for a garnishing tool, this is not it.

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174 of 178 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Microplane Works! November 7, 2003
Amazon Verified Purchase
When I received this wonderful product I placed it in the drawer and mostly forgot about it until it was time to grate some parmesan cheese. I remembered I had bought it, brought it out and pressing the cheese hard against the grater I ran it down. To my absolute amazement the cheese came out the underside of the grater with total ease. I ran the cheese across it again, this time, pressing lightly and the same thing happened. Whenever I had grated cheeses before the job was ardurous, very time consuming, and the result was usually more of a powder then nicely sectioned flakes of hard cheese.

This grater is made of the very best material and extremely sharp! I can see owning this tool for many years because of its quality. I am very pleased with my purchase and encourage others to buy one.

The grater came with the manufacturers "slip cover" over it and I decided to keep it on the grater when not in use for two reasons:

1. The grating surface is very sharp. It would be easy to cut yourself pulling this out of the drawer. Ouch!

2. I want to preserve the grating surface's blades for as long as possible because this is now one of my favorite tools.

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199 of 206 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars This tool will not grate on your nerves October 8, 2003
By A Customer
This is probably the only tool in my kitchen that I've also found in my dad's workshop. I use it for a variety of grating tasks including hard cheeses, chocolate, nutmeg, cinnamon, and citrus zests.

For hard cheeses such as parmesan, you'll get a nice, light fluffy pile of cheese as opposed to the grittier result from a traditional box grater. This is because the Microplane actually produces tiny, thin strips as opposed to hard little granules. Your cheese will melt faster and will actually look somewhat elegant perched in a snowy mound atop a bowl of pasta.

Hard spices such as nutmeg grate quickly and easily, and it's a snap to run the Microplane over an orange or lemon for just the right amount of zest and no pith (unless you press to hard or work the same spot too long). With wetter foods like zest, you will have to slide the resulting product from the backside of the plane as it does tend to stick, but this only takes a quick flick of your finger. Chocolate will need to be quite cold so that it's hard enough to grate without melting or slipping.

Finally, the Microplane is extremely easy to use because you can grate right into the pot or onto a plate. It's long enough to rest on the lip of most bowls, and it's elegant enough to bring to the table. In fact, we recently had a dinner party and we passed around this tool so that our guests could grate just the right amount of bittersweet chocolate into their black-bean chili.

Cleaning can be a bit tricky with this tool, since its sharp holes will catch on a towel when you try to dry it. Personally, I find that a few hard taps dislodge any gunk and I seldom need to actually wash it. But if you do get it wet, be sure to dry it thoroughly as you would with any fine kitchen knife.... Read more ›

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52 of 54 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars There is no greater grater November 28, 2002
Amazon Verified Purchase
The entire Microplane line is a marvel of culinary engineering. The well-stocked kitchen will have several Microplane graters, but this one is perhaps the most versatile.

Just a few quick and easy passes around your favorite citrus, and you've got a nice neat pile of zest, pith-free, suitable for your angel food cake, dessert souffle, or fruit cookie. You will never again buy pre-grated Parmesan cheese, nor will you ever again waste your money on the cardboard specks your grocery store calls pre-grated nutmeg. (And trust me, you haven't had eggnog until you've had it dusted with fresh nutmeg.) Need chocolate dust? Not a problem. Takes a couple of seconds.

Buy a whole set of Microplanes and throw away your uncomfortable, unsafe, and hard-to-clean box grater. One of the best low-tech kitchen innovations in years.

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491 of 555 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars I've Changed my Mind September 30, 2000
By A Customer
Based on the very enthusiastic review from Cooks Illustrated as well as seeing most of the FoodTV chefs using and raving about this tool I bought the grater about 6 months ago.

At first I was of the same opinion as the other reviewers here. Piles of Parmigiano-Reggiano just seemed to appear after a few effortless strokes. Zest was very fine and dispersed well in recipes. I have changed my opinion of the grater on several fronts however.

Safety: After 1-2 months I noticed the teeth getting duller. It required more pressure to grate the cheese. With the grater being only about an inch across, barely wider than the parmesan, it is easy to have the cheese slip off and your hand come down on the grater edge. They have made the problem much worse by having the teeth wrap around the edge of the grater rather than there being a rim. If you click to see the enlarged image of the grater you can see this clearly. Why in the world would you have teeth on the edge of the tool? Sure enough I gouged the edge of my index finger deep enough that it took several days to stay closed and I thought I might need a stitch or two.

Cheese Grating: The Cooks Illustrated review touted how light and fluffy the cheese was when grated. That sounds great but does that lead to the best flavor for $18 per lb cheese? I don't think so. The amino crystals that break on your tongue of fine Parmigiano-Reggiano are destroyed. It is more like taking a bite of salted dust.

The Microplane is great as a zester but because of durability, design and safety issues I'm looking elsewhere.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars not as sharp as I was expecting
My old roommate had a Microplane with a soft grip and I loved using it. So when I moved, I got my own. I'm sad to say that the grater on this one doesn't feel as sharp. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Tofuturkey
5.0 out of 5 stars Works great!
I purchased this specifically to grate ginger, and it does a wonderful job. Grating surface is sharp enough to do the trick well. Read more
Published 3 days ago by laura9300
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
This year I suddenly found myself making a lot of recipes that called for lemon zest. After making several recipes just trying to use my box cheese grater (complete fail) and then... Read more
Published 6 days ago by Ana
5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable
This is the best kitchen product I have ever bought! I have given some as gifts and everyone lives it.
Published 8 days ago by Cheryl
5.0 out of 5 stars This thing is a huge upgrade.
I was using the zester that came on one of those cheap stand up cheese graters and it sucked so badly! Read more
Published 9 days ago by Sondra
5.0 out of 5 stars great zester
This is a fantastic grater- very sharp and works well on a variety of items: chocolate, cheese, fruit, ginger. I'm very happy with it and with how it looks.
Published 13 days ago by GEPorter
5.0 out of 5 stars nice zester
at last i was able to buy this microplane zester, this makes my life easy
when i need a zest of lime or lemon when i'm cooking
i love this product...
Published 13 days ago by rain
5.0 out of 5 stars A kitchen must
I love this zoster. It is easy to use. I have lost some mobility in my hands because of a rare autoimmune disease scleroderma and this tool make zesting citrus fruit a snap.
Published 14 days ago by Dawnetta Bolaris
5.0 out of 5 stars Fastest way to zest limes
When I zest limes with this
* I get 1 patch of lime zested with just one rub on this thing.
* I can get nearly 2 teaspoons of zest from just 3 persian limes in a minute... Read more
Published 14 days ago by MapoTofu
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Zester/Grater
This is a great kitchen utensil that finely grates either citrus rind or hard cheese. I absolutely love it and have purchased many of them to give as gifts.
Published 16 days ago by Maria Christiana Schwarz
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