Grater Conversations!

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How much do you love the title No Grater Crime? Huge congratulations to Maddie (aka Edith) on the release yesterday! Doesn’t this sound like a great reason to read and relax this weekend?

Ever since meeting the wary owners of an antique shop opening across the street, Robbie has been scrambling to manage weird incidences plaguing her café and country store. Pricey items vanish from shelves without explanation, a fully equipped breakfast food truck starts lingering around the area each morning, and loyal diners mysteriously fall ill. When an elderly man dies after devouring an omelet packed with poisonous mushrooms, Robbie must temporarily close down Pans ‘N Pancakes and search for the killer with a real zest for running her out of business–or else.

Usually cooking can be relaxing, but it sounds like it isn’t for Robbie right now! So this week, let’s focus on graters. Yes, I said graters. Graters are good for cheese, chocolate, zest, vegetables–what’s your favorite way to use a grater, or your favorite end result of one having been used?

Jessie: Congratulations, Edith on the release! It is a fun title. I am going to have to say carrots and citrus zest. There are several carrot dishes I love to make that involve a grater. One is a sauteed kinpira dish and the other is a refreshig carrot salad. I also love zesting lime or lemon peel inot and onto just about anything I happen to be cooking. Pasta, chicken in butter sauce, blistered green beans with chili flakes are all enhanced with a few flicks of zest fresh from the grater!

Sherry: Cheers to another release, Edith. The title is fabulous. I’ve pretty much been banned from using our grater even after I purchased a cut-resistant glove to protect my knuckles and our food from my many accidents. My husband doesn’t like how I grate cheese — I don’t get it, but hey if I can get out of work in the kitchen, I’m all for it.

Barb: We stayed in a rental house last week. The kitchen had every piece of equipment you could possible want–except a grater! Much mumbling on the part of our many cooks. I use my grater, which I love, for lemon zest for butter cookies at Christmas time. When large amounts of grating is required, I use the food processor.

Liz: Congrats, Edith! I think I have a grater somewhere…I’m kidding. I do. Just bought a fancy new one, actually. I think the last thing I grated was fresh ginger for a dish from my Oh She Glows cookbook.

Julie: I love my IKEA grater that puts all in a nice cup with a cover. What do I love? Everything. But especially Parmesan cheese and chocolate. Separate. And, sometimes, together.

Edith/Maddie: Thank you all, dear Wickeds, for the kind wishes. Sherry, you crack me up. Of course Bob doesn’t want bits of knuckle skin in his grated cheese! I am also prone to that. Like Barb, if I’m making carrot cake or coleslaw, I always use the grater plate in my food processor. Bingo, done in a flash, and no scraped fingers. We have a dedicated rotary grater for the parmesan we like fresh grated on pasta. Fellow writer and friend Tiger Wiseman sent me a fabulous microplane grater/zester (with a turquoise handle!). But it’s super sharp, so I am very, very careful when I use it.

Readers: What’s your favorite grater?

Published by Julie Hennrikus aka Julia Henry

One woman, three names, many books. As Julia Henry she writes the Garden Squad series for Kensington. As J.A. Hennrikus she writes the Theater Cop series, and as Julianne Holmes she wrote the Clock Shop series. Click on my profile picture to connect with me on Facebook and Instagram! @JHAuthors

31 Thoughts

  1. I can not wait to read No Grater Crime. I love the series. I have a Microplane Grater. Actually it is a set of three different ones but works “Grate”!

  2. I’m almost finished with NO GRATER CRIME and loving it. Last grater I used is similar to the picture and I used it to grate cheese.

  3. I’m not sure if I’ve ever used a grater in my life. That’s not surprising considering how little cooking I’ve done.

    But sitting back relaxing this weekend with either NO GRATER CRIME (or if you’ve already read and loved it, another book) does sound like a great plan. I’m hoping that my Sunday involves a good chunk of reading time.

  4. I couldn’t live without freshly grated parmesan cheese on pasta, minestrone… actually pretty much anything now that I come to think of it. I use one of those hand-cranked round graters with a hunk of fresh cheese in it and put it on the table to be used at will.

    And congratulations, Edith, on No Grater Crime. I have to say, that cover is so soothing. I want to live in it.

  5. Congratulations on the book release. You are the “grate”est!

    The grater I use the most is my flat one. We are a great lover of cheese and laughingly say we support the diary industry with all our cheese usage. We eat a LOT of cheese – in things, on things and all by itself. My favorite grate is the old time box grater purely because of all the wonderful memories it brings back of my Mom in the kitchen cooking and the delicious home cooked food she put on our table.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

  6. Congratulations on the newest release, Edith!

    I do have a box grater – I think it was my husband’s mother’s. It sits in the back of the kitchen cupboard unused. My favorite grater is my food processor. Done in a flash and no knuckles injured. I have long wanted a microplaner – I love to add zest to Christmas butter cookies. Perhaps this year will be the year I treat myself to one.

  7. Congratulations, Edith! I have a triangular grater – each side is a different coarseness. I’ve used it for cheese and vegetables and zest, but the triangular shape makes it difficult to clean. I also have Sherry’s problem with grated fingers. LOL

    1. I have a triangular grater, too, which I love for the medium and large holes, even though it has lost its rubber feet and handle. But the fine holes just get stuff clogged in them.

  8. We always have blocks of cheese in the house. We shred on soups, salads, pasta, any dish that we want cheese on.

  9. Edith, your new book is on the way even though I am still playing catch up with your series!!

    I have a box grater and potato pancakes are my specialty. I also use it to grate zucchini for Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread and Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake. I have a small grater that I use for zest when needed for breads and cakes. I usually grate cheese on the small one depending on how much I need.

  10. I’m so looking forward to getting started on your latest book, Edith!

    I love my old-fashion box grater the best. I had one for about 40 years that my daughter replaced because she said it was “rusty”. However, she got me a new one that actually is better because it had a rubber covered handle. I have a little zester that works well, too.

  11. I am so like Sherry. My husband first banned me from the mandolin ( thank you Bill) and I must be supervised if I’m within 2 feet of the grater. That said, I love to have fresh lemon, lime and orange zest and of course parmesan is always a welcome ingredient for my grater.
    Congratulations on the new book Edith, I’m looking forward to reading it.

  12. Favorite grater? Don’t think I have one.

    But I do LOVE this title. Then again, you know how much I love puns.

  13. Congratulations on your new release Edith! I LOVE your book title and I really love the book cover also! I usually use our grater to grate sharp cheese, parmesan cheese, carrots for coleslaw. Have a Great rest of the day and a great week. I enjoyed reading this post.

  14. I have my mother’s grater but hardly use it. Mostly because of my fingers but I hardly get much grated product. If I can buy it already grated, I do. I love your series though!

  15. My favorite is the rotary cheese grater – there’s something so satisfying about cranking that handle.
    Just finished “No Grater Crime” and it was terrific. I love going back to South Lick and visiting all my “friends”. Coincidentally, I just got two large packages of mushrooms today – yes, I am looking at them suspiciously….

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