When it comes to kitchen equipment, there are some instances where you must accept no substitutes. Like for a sharp chef's knife, or a heavy-bottomed cast iron skillet. Or a Microplane rasp grater.

A rasp-style grater, with its short, razor-sharp notches, can not only make short work of grating cheese, chocolate, citrus zest, nutmeg, ginger, and many other ingredients, it’s also easier to grip ...