The Road Test - Cheese Graters
The Sunday Age
Sunday May 30, 1999
1. Tester: Jo Gillespie, 29, judge's associate
Product: Twergi Le Machine
Price: $110
Liked: It's beautifully designed and looks really nice in the kitchen. It's easy to use and is fantastic with hard cheeses. It would great to use when serving cheese because it looks good enough to have on the table and allows you to grate as much as you need.
Disliked: I felt that it was really designed for hard cheeses only - I wouldn't use it for soft cheeses. It would be great if it came with different-sized grating boards so that you could use different types of cheese. It's fairly small so you need to empty it regularly. It can be a bit messy. The storage space works well but when you're actually grating the cheese, it flies all over the bench as well. It's a little pricey.
Verdict: It would make a reasonable wedding
present for the person who has everything.
2. Tester: Belinda Fraumano, 22, entertainment travel coordinator
Product: ACEA Table Grater
Price: $34.50
Liked: The funky look about it. There's no chance of grating your fingers to pieces and it doesn't make any mess around the bench when you're using it. It's very compact.
Disliked: It is easy to work but only if the cheese is soft. I grabbed a block of tasty out of the fridge and it struggled a bit.
It would be easier if the handle was bigger. It's very time-consuming and fiddly to clean - you have to take it apart first. Also it grates very finely, which limits the types of cheeses. I tried parmesan and it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. It's also quite small so you need to empty it regularly, and it gets clogged easily as well. I wouldn't pay $35 for a cheese grater. Verdict: Perfect for the fashion-conscious.
3. Tester: Sally Hanzikourti, 30, service associate
Product: Bodum Parma
Price: $16.95
Liked: I loved its compact size - you could hold it in one hand and grate with the other. I liked its storage feature. It's easy to wash and handy on picnics and just as accessible in the fridge. It means you don't have to worry about having grated too much cheese. It's got a rubber grip on the bottom, which grips to the bench so it doesn't move at all when you're grating the cheese. It works really well. For $16.95,
I think it's a really good-quality product.
Disliked: I tried to think of something not to like about it but I couldn't.
Verdict: I told Mum she has to get one!
4. Tester: Chris Campbell, 17, student
Product: Oxo Good Grips Multi-Grater
Price: $18
Liked: It's quite innovative in its design. It's got rubber grips on the top and bottom of the grater so it doesn't slide all over the place when you're using it. It's compact and fits in a drawer quite well. Because it is a flexible design, you don't have to try and squeeze your hand inside it to get the cheese out. It's easy to clean - just throw it in the dishwasher. It seems quite sturdy and would probably last a long time.
Disliked: At first, it's a bit hard to work out how to pull it apart for cleaning.
Verdict: It's a really good design and, if you don't mind spending $18 on a cheese grater, you'll love it.
* Products from Minimax and Supply and Demand.
© 1999 The Sunday Age
