Groovy Gadget

Deep into the French film Amelie, I uttered a sigh heavy with nostalgia and envy. Was it when the beautiful dark-eyed heroine finally kissed her mysterious lover? Or perhaps when the grandfather of the movie’s subplot finally enjoys the company of his previously unknown grandchild? No, it was when Amelie absentmindedly grated a rustic chunk of Parmesan onto her dish of fresh pasta. “Ooooh…a Mouli,” I swooned out loud. When I snapped out of my reverie I convinced myself that those sitting nearest me probably thought I said, “Ooooh, Amelie.” (She did, after all, look amazing.) “Mouli” is in fact a brand name that we used in our house when I was growing up to describe any rotary style grater. (Much the same as my mother called any brand of margarine, “Oleo.”) It was at this point that I realized that I’ve been making do with lesser graters for too many years. In browsing the shelves of local housewares shops I’d seen many modern versions, but had been unwilling to make a commitment to a mostly plastic model. I wanted the durability and reliability of that simple stainless steel device from my childhood. Recently, I spied a nearly perfect replica of the graters of my youth at Sur La Table on State Street. The Cuisipro Cheese Grater is a model of efficiency with it’s removable drum, which can be replaced to allow either right or left handed grating. One simply places the cheese of choice into the “hopper,” squeezes the device closed and turns the handle of the drum. Cleaning is quick and easy and additional drums for coarser or finer grating can be purchased separately. Best of all, the rotary grater is small and light-weight and there’s no risk of scraping a knuckle or shearing a fingertip. The Cuisipro Cheese Grater is available at Sur La Table in Santa Barbara at Paseo Nuevo and in Thousand Oaks at the Promenade at Westlake, or online at www.surlatable.com.