Tips For Cleaning A Cheese Grater

If you're the lead cook or grocery shopper for your family, you've seen in the store that cheese is a lot cheaper if you buy it by the block instead of getting the bagged, pre-shredded stuff. A lot of top-quality cheeses don't even give you the option of buying pre-shredded. This makes grating cheese yourself a common kitchen chore. Grating isn't particularly hard to do. Cleaning the cheese grater is another kettle of fish entirely! Cheese graters, microplanes, lemon zesters, mandolines - all of these can be horrible to clean.

Minimize your cleaning hassle with these tips for cheese graters and related kitchen gadgets.

Key Tip: The Sooner You Clean, The Easier It Is

As soon as you're finished with your grating or zesting, the leftover bits of food on the tool begin to get hard and stick to it. Even leaving the grater until after the meal can make the remains that much harder to remove. Cleaning will take half as long if you give your cheese grater an immediate wash when you're finished with it.

Dishwasher Grater Cleaning

The dishwasher is often your best bet for cleaning complex, hard-to-handle kitchen tools like cheese graters. Doublecheck to make sure that your gadgets are dishwasher safe first! Even with tools that are capable of surviving the dishwasher, it's a good idea to skip the dry cycle. The heat could effectively "bake on" any residue that doesn't come loose in the rinse. Use a good microfiber cloth to dry your grater and remove any last bits of food.

Using Lemons To Clean A Cheese Grater

The cleaning power and versatility of the humble lemon truly know no bounds. Here's what you need for this powerful all-natural cleaning procedure:

• * 1 half lemon
• 1 small bowl
• 2-3 tablespoons of salt
• Dishwashing liquid
• Microfiber cloth (for drying)
  

Start by pouring the salt into the ball. Rub the cut end of the lemon through the salt. Use the salted fruit to scrub your cheese grater. Let the grater sit for three to five minutes, then rinse it in very hot water. Follow this up by cleaning the grater with dishwashing liquid, as you would an ordinary dish. Simply remember to wipe the grater in the opposite direction to the one you use when grating in order to protect yourself from the blades.

If you don't have any fresh lemons on hand, you can run the same procedure with a potato.

Cleaning A Cheese Grater With A Pastry Brush

A pastry brush is a perfect tool for spreading glazes on your best baked goods, but it's also a potent cleaning asset. Here's another ingredient run-down:

• Dry pastry brush
• Dishwashing liquid
• Microfiber cloth (for drying)
  

Use the pastry brush as a first step to remove leftover cheese or other food material from your grater. Move the brush down the grater or zester in the same direction as the blades - again, the opposite direction you would use to grate. Follow up with an ordinary wash with dishwashing liquid and drying with your microfiber cloth.

If your kitchen doesn't have a pastry brush, you can follow the same procedure using a clean toothbrush.

Home-grated cheese is a delicious part of tons of different recipes. Don't let the hassle of cleaning your cheese grater cut you off from all those wonderful possibilities!

If you're interested in seeing more handy tips for minimizing the hassle involved in kitchen cleaning, try our guide to cleaning your cutting board. We also have effective step-by-step instructions for fast, painless, effective cleaning of your microwave.