box grater

box grater [boks grey-ter] noun

A four-sided metal grater, each side offering holes of various shapes and sizes stamped in the metal to produce shreds of carrots, chocolate, cheese, lemon zest or whatever else you want to grate. A box grater comes with at least four sides – those with more sides are still referred to as box graters. There is typically a handle on top to steady the hand tool. While the design is very old, it remains a must-have kitchen tool. The original, now in a museum, was made from pewter and designed by François Boullier of France in the 1540s to grate hard cheese.