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We all have a preferred side of a cheese grater we like to use.
Maybe you’re a fan of the classic shredding side, perfect for turning a block of tasty cheese into a pile of grated goodness or sneaking extra veggies like carrots and zucchini into the kids’ bolognese.
Or perhaps you’re more into the fine grater, for when you’re feeling fancy and want your parmesan to be light and delicate to sprinkle onto pasta.
Maybe you haven’t stopped using the spiky side of the grater ever since you discovered its true purpose—zesting citrus or grating things like nutmeg.
But one side that often gets neglected is the narrow side with the wide horizontal slits, also referred to as the ‘blade’ side, the ‘mandolin’ side, or in my household, the ‘WTF is this for?’ side.
So, WTF is it for?
Let’s find out.
And no, it’s not there solely to provide more opportunities to slice your knuckles, even though it does look like some kind of medieval torture device.
The ‘hidden’ cheese grater feature
One Instagrammer thinks they’ve finally discovered the answer to what this mysterious side is designed for.
Taking to her account, @jjwthebadhair shared a clip of her partner demonstrating its true purpose: to slice cheese.
“Every cheese grater has a side with a single blade or two blades,” he says.
He then presses a block of cheese up and down one of the blades a few times and then shows the camera the uniform slices of cheese he’s made.
“Perfect slices!” he says proudly.
It turns out he’s bang on the money.
According to Martha Stewart’s blog, “the wide horizontal slots are designed for slicing. It’s not as effective as a mandoline or sharp knife, but it works well for making quick slices of cheese (or vegetables like cucumber).
“Use it to make wide shavings of hard and semi-hard cheeses—when you want to garnish a pasta dish or salad with evenly thick shaved Parmesan or Pecorino or add a few thin slices of cheddar, aged Gouda, or Gruyère to a sandwich.”
“I never clocked that it existed”
The clip has now been viewed over 1.4 million times, and because it’s the internet, thousands of people claimed to already know about it.
“What did you think that was there for??” asked one person.
The poster replied, “I literally never clocked that it existed.”
Then one sarcastic commenter wrote: “Some days I don’t feel the brightest. Then I go on social media, and I feel like a genius.”
In saying that, some viewers were still impressed, saying they, too, had no idea of the feature.
“HOLY SH*T THAT’S WHAT THAT’S FOR,” said one.
“My life is forever altered! I did not know this… how? I’m learning more here on the internet,” wrote another.
And someone else said: “I’m sorry, what??? My mind is blown.”
Then this person suggested: “I use it to slice potatoes when I’m too lazy 😂.”
“Thank you. I used to be cutting apple slices all day for my kids,” another wrote. “Never again.”
