Parchment Paper Is The Answer To This Box Grater Problem You Thought Was Unfixable

Anyone who's ever wrestled with a box grater knows that half of your cheese, carrots, or zucchini usually end up jammed inside of the holes instead of falling onto your plate. This is frustrating, not just because you lose half your food, but because you have to spend time prying the food out of those sharp little edges. Luckily for us all, someone figured out a fix using parchment paper that's so low-effort it feels a bit like cheating.

To make this work, simply take a sheet of parchment paper, hold it over the side of the grater, and grate your food as normal. You'll find that the shredded bits fall onto the parchment paper instead of inserting themselves into the sharp holes. No more risking your fingers trying to get it all out. 

If you were ever wondering how to grate cheese without grating your knuckles, this is a great option. Grating is easy, and cleanup is even easier. This being said, I tested this approach and it's not fully foolproof. I found that ginger still managed to sneak into the grater, while some wetter foods like cucumber made a hole in the parchment. To combat this, I doubled the paper up for cucumber, but this meant the blades were less effective. However, firmer items like apples and carrots worked like an absolute treat. This genuinely saves a lot of time and frustration during clean-up, much like this other easy trick to make your box grater easier to clean.

This hack works so great because it's genuinely so simple. Any food that comes into contact with a grater becomes so small, it easily becomes wedged into the holes (which does feel like a bit of a design error). Now, with something in between, the blades can still break down the food, but the paper keeps the food from vanishing into the tool itself. Plus, the food isn't clinging to the grater; it just slides down the paper. It's like it's having a ride on its own little food slide, landing directly where you need it on the surface below.

Any type of parchment paper will do; the stuff you already have in your kitchen drawer is all you need. If this has got you looking to put your grater to better use, here are 15 creative ways to use your cheese grater that go beyond the usual shredded cheese. With this trick, hopefully you'll shave the clean-up time in half. Finally, something "grate" that isn't the least bit "grating."