‘Boys and their toys’ were the first words uttered by my wife, as I tried out the New Microplane^® Gourmet series Dual Grater in our kitchen.

As I am the cook in our household, I think that I am entitled to get the best tools for the job and with Christmas fast approaching, I know that I am going to need all the help that I can get. Just to be clear  – on this occasion I am talking of the fabulous New Microplane^®  Gourmet Series Dual Grater – and not my wife, who freely admits that we only have a kitchen because it came with the house.

However, the piles of ginger, garlic, nutmeg, orange and lemon currently cluttering the kitchen made her wonder what I was cooking, and I didn’t like to tell her that it was all for this review.

This dual grater combines two of the most frequently used grating sizes, the fine blade and the course blade.

I found the dual grater to be sturdy and well balanced, less important perhaps for a block of cheese but excellent for cloves of garlic.

The fine blade, ideal for zesting citrus fruits and grating ginger, nutmeg, Parmesan, and of course garlic, worked effortlessly and will be a time saving boon come Christmas Day. As will the coarse blade, that works well with chocolate, onions, and other hard vegetables.

Two blades with one handle is perfect for those times when the recipe demands some ingredient grated followed by another ingredient also to be grated. Prior to this I would be washing the grater and desperately trying to dry it so that I can reuse it for the next ingredient.

The handle fits nicely in the hand, not saying ergonomic, but somehow it feels right.

So, if my wife is reading this, think stocking filler for yours truly, although I would be quite happy to receive this as a main gift.

NEW Microplane^®  Gourmet Series Dual Grater, RRP £34.95 from hartsofstur.com 

Image courtesy of Microplane^®