Best Food Graters for Cheese and Vegetables

How the Five Compare on the Numbers

These five split into two kinds of tool. The Urbanstrive, the Spring Chef and the GORILLA GRIP are four sided box graters worked with a downward stroke. The Cambom and the SUSTEAS are hand crank rotary graters with a suction base and interchangeable blades. The box graters all state four fixed surfaces, coarse, medium, fine and a slicer. The rotary pair state three blades and five respectively, swapped by hand.

Published weights run from 0.4 pounds for the Spring Chef to 2.62 pounds for the SUSTEAS, the heaviest of the five. Every one of these five publishes a full set of three dimension fields, which is unusual, and on four of them nothing in the maker’s own text contradicts those fields. Only two state a steel grade, and only two state a catch container.

What the table cannot tell you is how sharp any of these stays. Not one of the five publishes a blade thickness, a sharpness figure or a durability claim with a number in it, and none states a country of origin or a warranty period. It also cannot tell you how much a container holds, because neither maker that fits one publishes its volume.

Box Graters and What Their Containers Do

Urbanstrive: four sides and a figure that does not match

The Urbanstrive states 304 stainless steel at 95 percent of the body, with black TPE at 5 percent on the base to keep it still. It states four sides, coarse, medium and fine grating plus a slicer, an ergonomic non slip handle, and an attachable container for catching, measuring and storing. It publishes 0.73 pounds and states it is dishwasher safe.

Its size is the awkward part. The dimension fields read 2.95 by 4.9 by 12.2 inches while the maker’s own size line reads 10 by 5 by 3 inches. Two of the three figures line up roughly; the third does not, and 12.2 inches against a stated 10 inches is a gap a buyer measuring a drawer would notice. This page takes the maker’s own sentence as the size and says so.

GORILLA GRIP and Spring Chef: a container, and no container

GORILLA GRIP is the one listing here whose two size statements agree exactly: the fields read 3.1 by 5.0 by 9.2 inches and the bullet states it measures 5 by 3.1 by 9.2 inches. It states four sides for zesting, shredding, slicing and grating, a removable slip resistant border, and a detachable container with a removable lid that includes measurements. It publishes 0.75 pounds.

The Spring Chef XL states four sides and no container at all. What it has instead is a removable rubber bottom, which the maker says prevents slipping and also stops food escaping out of the bottom of the grater. At 0.4 pounds it is the lightest of the five, and it is the only box grater here that publishes no size in its own words, leaving fields of 5.59 by 9.88 by 5.0 inches to speak for it.

Rotary Graters: Three Blades or Five

Cambom: three blades and a named steel

The Cambom states three blades, a coarse shredder, a fine shredder of a different diameter, and a slicer. It states 430 stainless steel for the blade, food grade BPA free plastic for the rest, and that no electricity is required. The suction base is stated for marble and glass desktops. It publishes 0.9 pounds and fields of 5.5 by 6.5 by 10.8 inches.

Two of its claims are worth separating. The maker says a pound of cheese takes only 30 seconds, which is the maker’s own claim and not something measured here. The other is cleaning: dishwasher top safe, with hand washing described as acceptable, and separate parts that sit in a drawer without taking much space. That is a storage answer in place of a container.

SUSTEAS: five blades and the weight that comes with them

The SUSTEAS states five blades, fine grate, coarse shred, thick slice, thin slice and wavy cut, swapped by hand, with an oversized drum and a wide output chute. It states a built in suction base, an enclosed drum where fingers never contact the blades, and that every part detaches without tools. It publishes 2.62 pounds and fields of 7.87 by 11.22 by 5.69 inches.

Against the Cambom, those are the two figures that matter: 2.62 pounds beside 0.9 pounds, and 7.87 inches on one axis beside 5.5 inches. The SUSTEAS also makes the one speed claim on this page, shredding up to 12 times faster than box graters, which is the maker’s wording and carries no published test behind it. It ships a blade storage case and a quick start guide.

Steel, Bases and Cleanup

Only two makers name a grade

Stainless steel is not one material. The Urbanstrive states 304 stainless steel and puts a share on it, 95 percent of the body. The Cambom states 430 stainless steel for its blade and calls it robust and rust free. The Spring Chef, the SUSTEAS and the GORILLA GRIP each say only stainless steel, with the GORILLA GRIP adding that its blades are rust resistant.

For a grater the grade matters less than it would on a knife, since nothing acidic sits on it for long, but it is the only checkable material fact available and three of the five decline to give it. None of the five publishes a blade thickness either, so how much metal is behind the cutting edge is unstated across the whole page.

What holds each one still, and how it washes

Each of the five answers the sliding problem differently. The Urbanstrive states a black TPE non slip base. The Spring Chef states a removable rubber bottom. The GORILLA GRIP states a slip resistant border that is also removable for cleaning. The Cambom states a suction cup base for marble and glass. The SUSTEAS states a built in suction base that locks onto smooth countertops.

All five state a dishwasher claim, which is unusual for a full set of picks, but two of them narrow it. The Cambom states dishwasher top safe and allows hand washing. The SUSTEAS states the top rack on a normal or low temperature cycle and advises against a high heat dry to keep the blades sharp longer. The three box graters state dishwasher safe with nothing attached.

Which One Fits Your Kitchen

A box grater that catches what it grates. The Urbanstrive states four sides, 304 stainless steel and an attachable container, at 0.73 pounds. Its stated size is 10 by 5 by 3 inches, which is the figure to measure a drawer against rather than its 12.2 inch field.

A container with markings on it. The GORILLA GRIP states four sides and a detachable container with a removable lid and measurements, publishes 0.75 pounds, and gives 5 by 3.1 by 9.2 inches in its own bullet as well as in its fields, the only pick here where the two match exactly.

The lightest box grater here. The Spring Chef XL publishes 0.4 pounds and fields of 5.59 by 9.88 by 5.0 inches, states four sides including a zester and slicer, and fits a removable rubber bottom that the maker says also stops food escaping underneath.

A rotary that stays small. The Cambom states three blades, 430 stainless steel, a suction base for marble and glass, and parts that store flat in a drawer. It publishes 0.9 pounds against 2.62 pounds for the SUSTEAS, and its dishwasher claim is top rack only.

The most blade options. The SUSTEAS states five blades, an enclosed drum where fingers never touch the blades, and a blade storage case. It publishes 2.62 pounds and fields of 7.87 by 11.22 by 5.69 inches, so clear the counter before you crank.

What We Could Not Verify

Every figure above is a maker’s own published number or sentence. These are the things I went looking for and could not source from any of the five.

• A blade thickness, a sharpness figure or any durability number for any of the five.
• A steel grade for the Spring Chef, the SUSTEAS or the GORILLA GRIP, each of which says only stainless steel.
• A volume for either container, so how much the Urbanstrive or GORILLA GRIP catches is unstated.
• A country of origin or a warranty period on any of the five listings.
• Replacement blade availability for either rotary model, where blades are the wearing part.
• Any test behind the Cambom 30 second claim or the SUSTEAS claim of 12 times faster, both of which are the makers’ own wording.