Grating bucket--would you buy?

[Jenise]

First off, when I opened the email with the subject title "grating bucket", this isn't at all what I expected to see. More thoughts of mine to follow, but what's your first reaction?

https://store.177milkstreet.com/product ... 3ff50be98c

Not what I imagined but not too far off, either. If I did a lot of grating I might go for it -- it is better than letting little bits fly all over the counter.

What got me about their pitch was the suggestion that it had a greater surface area. Really? It's round. You have a square chunk of cheese--so how much cheese surface is going to be effectively grated in that small barrel, and what's the remaining piece of cheese going to look like? Lots of waste IMO. Box graters are better for the way I do things.

I imagined a bucket whose lid was the grating surface so that the grated material dropped into the bucket from the top.
This design clearly does not capture the cheese that flies off from the front of the grater. Neither would the imagined bucket. Those flown off bits are always a pain to clean up unless you place a piece of waxed or parchment paper down first.
When I need a quantity of grated hard cheese more than 1/4 cup I chunk the cheese and use the blade of the Cuisinart food processor. For soft cheeses and smaller quantities I use a box. Finally for cheeses that are served simultaneously or as condiment I put a rotary grater loaded with cheese chunks and serve at table. I have had at least 6-8 rotary graters and none of them are satisfactory - poor leverage, breaking plastic, worn out silicone ring, bad grip, bending metal. Have yet to try the hand held battery powered ones. This is the most used cheese grater in our house. Always thinking about a design that would be better.

What got me about their pitch was the suggestion that it had a greater surface area. Really? It's round. You have a square chunk of cheese--so how much cheese surface is going to be effectively grated in that small barrel, and what's the remaining piece of cheese going to look like? Lots of waste IMO. Box graters are better for the way I do things.

This is not my comment. Jenise?

I see no advantage over a conventional box grater. Put the box grater on your cutting board, grate the item, lift up the grater, and you've got a nice, neat pile of grated stuff. If you want to keep the stuff inside the grater, just tape a piece of cardboard to the bottom. I also see a disadvantage--the round design makes the grating less efficient.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

What got me about their pitch was the suggestion that it had a greater surface area. Really? It's round. You have a square chunk of cheese--so how much cheese surface is going to be effectively grated in that small barrel, and what's the remaining piece of cheese going to look like? Lots of waste IMO. Box graters are better for the way I do things.

This is not my comment. Jenise?

Oh dear, I accidentally edited you instead of replied to you. Please forgive me and don't delete yourself. You can edit your original comment back in.

Oh, you don't get rid of me that easily.

Can I delete Richard again though? That seemed like fun....

[Jenise]

[David M. Bueker]

I see no advantage over a conventional box grater. Put the box grater on your cutting board, grate the item, lift up the grater, and you've got a nice, neat pile of grated stuff. If you want to keep the stuff inside the grater, just tape a piece of cardboard to the bottom. I also see a disadvantage--the round design makes the grating less efficient.

-Paul W.

The Gospel of Engineering

[Jenise]

My box grater by I-forget-who came with a companion polypropylene box on which to grate so you can shred this big pile of cheese, use what you need, pull off the grater and slap on the lid to go straight to storage. I love it to death.

[David M. Bueker]

Our box grater came from Laura’s great grandmother’s house. Great grandma got it from her mother.

It’s heavy as all heck. Probably will survive a nuclear explosion.

I've got a box grater up in the red wicker basket of infrequently-used tools. I've got a hand-held one that does most of my work.

[Jenise]

Our box grater came from Laura’s great grandmother’s house. Great grandma got it from her mother.

It’s heavy as all heck. Probably will survive a nuclear explosion.

That's fun. I love heirloom tools. Each use resonates.

A box grater by any other name....

You'd have a Dickens of a time improving on the box grater even of you had Grate Expectations!

But it would be a bleak house if you didn't bring home something from the old "intertubez" curiosity shop now and then.

Of course Dickens fans would have to have the best of thymes and the worst of thymes......and when he orders a martini in a bar, they always respond 'olive or Twist?