Shelf · Knife & prep · No heat
Grating
Pushing food down a punched metal face so it comes off in strands, on whichever hole size the job wants.
Why it works
Grating turns a solid into something with enormous surface for its weight, which is why grated cheese melts into a sauce that a cubed block would sit in as lumps, and why grated onion releases its juice into a marinade instead of staying as pieces in it.
The tell
The strands come off long and separate rather than pasty, and the block still has a flat face on it rather than a rounded nub.
- Smeared paste
- Long strands
- Crumbs
How it fails
Grating cheese warm — it smears and clogs the holes rather than cutting. Cold cheese and long, confident strokes; short scrubbing strokes take skin off knuckles and give you crumbs instead of strands.
In the app, the card opens on the recipe step that names it, with the tell drawn.
Learning is free on every plan.