Overall, using this tool was almost effortless. Even on the fine setting, the ricer did not need much pressure. When you have finished working the ricer and producing mounds of fluffy, creamy mashed potatoes, just scrape the base and load it into the dishwasher. One downside to washing it in the dishwasher was that the plastic parts start to look dull after a couple of washes. The 2.1L jar holds a lot of food and is easy to remove when you are done. If you were blending a smoothie or soup, a hidden inner shaft allows you to pour it into another container without making a mess. Potatoes: We sliced half a potato on each box grater with a wide blade to see how consistent the pieces were.

The unit is fairly compact and smaller than standard full size food processors, making it perfect for smaller families and kitchens with limited space. What we like about it: This one also comes with five interchangeable blades or rollers. This allows you to shred different types of foods including cheese, nuts, carrots, bread and potatoes. The motor is strong and can handle even hard foods without feeling like it will fall apart. The anti-skid feet keep it in place even on a smooth worktop.If you are looking for something that you can grate, slice, julienne and also collect and store your produce in, then take a look at this OXO Good Grips complete grate and slice set. It comes with four separate grating surfaces, each of which is color-coded for your convenience. They can be used on their own or in conjunction with the transparent container, which also has handy measuring marks. There’s also a transparent lid which can be additionally used as a flat top for storing sliced and grated produce. The cover itself has a 2-cup capacity, so it highly practical in itself. There are non-slip feet on the container to hold your base steady while you are working. It depends on your kitchen needs. If you eat at home almost daily, then you definitely find yourself doing lots of chopping, slicing and shredding. In that case an electric grater is worth it. It’ll save you time and effort, and you’ll get better results with your vegetables, nuts and cheese compared to manually chopping or grating them. Versatile: We preferred graters that have multiple sides with different hole sizes. Coarse holes (which vary in width from grater to grater) are useful for shredding vegetables (like potatoes and carrots), as well as firm or soft cheeses (like cheddar and mozzarella); fine holes are good for thinner shavings from citrus zest, garlic, nutmeg, ginger, and hard cheeses (like Parmesan and Pecorino Romano). Some box graters also have wide blades on one side to create slices of hard vegetables like beets or potatoes. Neil Perry believes the most important thing is to know where your potato is grown. “Here in Sydney, we use The Gourmet Potato, from Wentworth Hill. All of his potatoes are grown in nutrient-rich, regenerated soils; this is sustainable farming at its best. They are being constantly harvested so are fresh and dense.” Known for his exacting precision, Perry gives his suggestions for a creamy potato puree. “The reality is, it’s all about the flavour of the potato and the butter. Then the most important thing for a great puree is cooking the potatoes in the skin, peeling them hot, pushing through a ricer – not mashing.”

The Oxo Good Grips Multi Grater is the third type of grater on this list. It’s sort of the halfway house between the hand grater and the box grater. The best thing about this style is that you can stand it up over any sized bowl and grate your cheese (or whatever you’re grating) straight into the bowl. This prevents any extra mess and will save on the washing up as well. Plus, if you want to use it as a normal grater it works perfectly.A potato ricer extrudes the potatoes out through small perforations in its base. As you press down the plunger, the force pats down the potatoes and forces them to extrude through the holes in the hopper. Because hot air doesn’t get trapped in the potatoes, an airy texture is created in the mashed potatoes. This is just the sort of base you want in the creamiest, fluffiest mashed potatoesor for making gnocchi. The potatoes mashed in a ricer are not gluey and have a rice-like look. The ricers usually look like giant garlic presses, and they work like one as well. In addition to using them for "ricing" potatoes, you can use them to extract excess liquid from vegetables and hash browns and for making baby food or pureeing soft-boiled vegetables. The waffle-style potato masher isn’t for everyone. Some cooks just prefer the look, feel, and performance of the wave-style masher. And if you enjoy a more rustic mashed potato with some texture or chunky guacamole, you’ll want to seek out this style.