The Easiest Way To Keep Your Grater Or Microplane Perfectly Clean

Like most things in life, nothing is perfect. But if there's any cooking tool that comes close, it's the Microplane. A long, thin metal grater dotted with small, sharp-edged teeth, it can be used to grate or zest just about anything from ginger to parmesan. Need to grate a hard-boiled egg over avocado toast or a Cobb salad? Break out the Microplane. You can even use it to fix burnt cookies that you forgot were in the oven, simply by shaving off the darkened edges. It's hardly surprising that it's one of Ina Garten's favorite kitchen tools.

But, like I mentioned, nothing is perfect. Because of a Microplane's shape, many different types and textures of food can get lodged into its tiny grooves. Despite its versatility, it is a pain to clean. You can try to pass a sponge over it, but you'll end up with a torn-up pad and dulled-out grating teeth. And it's not just this particular brand: You can face similar issues when attempting to clean other fine graters and zesters, too.

The best way to keep a Microplane or grater sleek and clean without dulling its essential edges is by rinsing it as you cook. Instead of letting it sit with your other kitchen tools as you finish cooking a dish, take a moment to run the utensil under warm water. Instantly passing water through the grooves prevents food residue from drying or caking onto its nooks and crannies. 

Though the clean-as-you-go method may be useful in most cases, there is a chance small food particles will remain caked onto your Microplane or grater. If you have run it under warm sink water multiple times and still find there are lingering pieces of food, just let the utensil sit in a bowl or another larger container full of warm water.

Letting a zester soak in a bath of warm water for a few minutes before washing it will release all of the leftover bits and pieces from whatever you passed over the blades. Whether they are pieces of egg, citrus zest, cheese, chocolate, or something else, the warm water will rehydrate the food particles, lubricate the Microplane, and separate the food from the metal. Alternatively, you could try grating other ingredients such as an apple or potato to try to dislodge any stubborn bits.

From there, you can proceed as normal. Although you can in theory put some models in the dishwasher, this is an implement that it's really best to wash by hand. Either run the Microplane or grater under some more water, or wash it with a sponge and some soap. Make sure to run the pad in the direction of the blades to avoid dulling their sharpness. Then just let the utensil dry naturally rather than using a towel. Though if you really can't face the fiddly clean-up every time, it's worth knowing that you can actually grate ginger without a special tool — all you need is a fork.