In certain food-obsessed circles, the Microplane is assumed to be the grater, similar to the way Post-its stand in for generic sticky notes. While Microplanes do a solid job of zesting citrus and grating cheese, there is a more beautiful and practical option: a Japanese copper grater, or Oroshigane (おろし金/下ろし金, "grating metal"). One advantage is that it has teeth on both the front and back of different sizes, one for coarse grating and one for fine grating. Each tooth is hand-hammered by skilled Japanese craftsmen in the famous blade town of Tsubame. This Oroshigane is made of high-quality copper with tin plating, making it undoubtedly one of the most aesthetically pleasing handmade kitchen tools from Japan. Another nice aspect is its shape. The wide base allows you to easily rest it on a cutting board while grating larger amounts. And it looks so good that you wouldn’t mind grating Parmigiano directly onto the pasta at the dinner table. Beyond that, “copper is very durable, so you can use this for your entire lifetime,” says Kuniko Yagi, Chef of Pikunico in Los Angeles, noting that stainless steel teeth can flatten and become dull. A copper grater might be a bit more expensive, but it lasts forever. To ensure yours really does, Yagi suggests carefully hand-washing and drying it before storing to avoid any water stains on its surface. “That way, you can hand it down to the next generation”.

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