What do shaved chocolate, garlic paste, and freshly-grated Parmesan have in common? Two things: they’re all ingredients that can finish a dish with a powerful punch of flavor, and they can all be easily created at home with a Microplane.
For most tasks in life, you get out of them about what you get into them. This is true of work, hobbies, and personal relationships. The more the work, the greater the reward, right? This is not true with a Microplane. With this one tool, the effort-to-reward ratio is way out of whack.
Let us give you an example: grating garlic into a fine paste and then zesting a lemon will take about three minutes with a Microplane. Now put those ingredients in a bowl and toss them with roasted vegetables. In about five minutes you’ve transformed a standard side dish into a scene-stealer. The payoff is almost too good to be true.
A Microplane can also help you get the most out of your ingredients. Let’s think about those roasted vegetables again for a minute. When it comes to garlic, the finer you chop it the more flavor you can get out of it. One smashed garlic cube will give your dish a hint of mellow garlic flavor. When it’s grated with a Microplane, that same cube can turn a whole tray of vegetables into a pizzeria-flavored delight. For zesting a lemon, this tool will create shavings small enough that they won’t end up getting caught in your teeth.
The perks don’t stop there. Peeling ginger can be an annoying and wasteful process. If you use a Microplane to grate ginger, you don’t need to peel it first. If you want to tone down the spice in a dish, you can finely grate the peppers. This ensures that no one accidentally gets an extra large chunk of Jalapeño in their lunch. A Microplane is also excellent for grating whole spices like nutmeg or cinnamon. Working with whole spices will give you a more powerful aromatic punch than pre-ground cinnamon that’s been sitting in a cupboard for months.
A Microplane is light and maneuverable, so taking it out is effortless. It’s strong, so it can shred hard cheeses as easily. This thing is basically begging to be used. Try storing your Microplane vertically in a container on your countertop. That way it will catch your eye while you cook, prompting the question: what have you grated today? There’s always something you can finely zest to make dinner a little better, and this tool makes it easy.
Many of the most delightful things in life are not technically essential for basic survival. Fresh ginger doesn’t make a stir-fry more filling, and grating garlic won’t add much nutrition to your roasted vegetables. When you’re cooking at home, It’s easy to skip those little finishing touches that aren’t adding any extra fuel to your plate. Fortunately, with a Microplane, it’s also easy to not skip those steps. Motivation is precious, and with this simple sheet of metal, you can conserve it for more arduous tasks. You’ll barely have time to second guess yourself before you’re making it rain parmesan all over your nightly pasta.
Grab this essential tool for yourself at the Blue Apron Marketplace.
