Here’s An Easy Way To Avoid A Mess When You’re Grating Cheese

@rustinggently

Let’s say you’re making Italian food for dinner and you need to grate some cheese. You know when you’re going crazy with the cheese and it starts to get all soft and stick to the cheese grater and you end up just making a huge mess? Well, you can avoid this entire situation by putting your cheese in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes before attempting to grate it.

Once the cheese feels firm (this could vary depending on what kind of cheese it is), it’ll be way more manageable and you can avoid a production when it comes time to clean up.

A post shared by Annette White (@bucketlistjourney) on Aug 22, 2015 at 9:21pm PDT

Another technique for avoiding a messy cheese grater is to spray a tiny bit of cooking spray on the grater before you go to town with your Parmigiano Reggiano or any other cheese.

A post shared by northlondonvegan (@northlondonvegan) on Dec 9, 2017 at 6:23am PST

After you’re done grating your cheese, the best way to clean the grater it is to do it right away. If you end up letting the grater sit for a little while as you eat your meal, you can use lemon wedges to help clean the cheese off afterward. Cut a lemon in half, or into wedges, and run the pulp across the grater’s holes. The acidity of the lemon will help to cut any grease or fat left from the cheese.

A post shared by Mike (@rustinggently) on Jun 13, 2015 at 9:06am PDT

So the next time you’re making pasta or anything else that requires grated cheese, toss a chunk in the freezer first and make life easier for yourself.