Culinary expert explains what the fourth side of the cheese grater is actually used for

A culinary expert has explained what the fourth side on a cheese grater is for after it's left people baffled in the kitchen.

There has long been a question of what’s going on with the four-sided cheese grater that people have stored in their kitchens for years without ever learning about its true purpose.

You have the big side, which is for grating decent-sized coarse bits of cheese, the smaller side, for fine grating of cheese, the side where you can get slices, and then one side where it’s almost like spikes.

If you grate cheese on this side, all you’ll end up with is mush on the front, and nothing falling through the holes.

So, what’s going on with it?

What's this side for? (Getty Stock Images)

Reddit users posting on r/CasualUK and r/Cooking wanted answers.

One asked: “What is the fourth side of a box grater for?”

They explained how there is the side that’s used ‘90% of the time', the coarse shred side, and then the one for 'a finer shred,’ a part that’s ‘ostensibly for slices’, and then the ‘one that makes it impossible to hand wash the thing without drawing blood'.

“I'm 54 years old and have been cooking most of my life, but it has never occurred to me to use that side for anything.

"What's it for? Am I missing some amazing ‘annoying job done easy’ trick? Or do I just already have a tool that does it better?"

Josh Archibald, who is the executive chef of culinary development for cheesemaker Tillamook, told Good Housekeeping last year that each side is designed for specific types of cheese.

It's for zesting and powdering (Getty Stock Images)

The side the outlet describes as 'rough, raspy pinholes' are apparently 'ideal for hard cheese like Parmesan as well as chocolate, ginger, nutmeg, citrus and garlic'.

Archibald wants you to think when selecting which side to use: "Is the cheese an ingredient in a batter or dough? Is it the focal component of the final dish over chips, pasta or potatoes? How much heat will be applied to the dish?"

According to Martha Stewart, the grater, which was created in the 1540s, has many uses.

On her website, she explains that the one with ‘the tiniest holes on the grater (the ones that look like teeth) produce the finest strands of cheese.’

She said it can be used for grating ‘nutmeg and zest citrus’, but laments that’s ‘it's also the one most likely to cut your knuckles if you're not careful, and the one that's the biggest drag to clean, so use it judiciously.’