Megabytes Awards

Gadget of the Year: Microplane Graters

Yes we know we've mentioned them now for the third Megabytes running, but everyone's reaction is the same: Wow! The first time you use a Microplane grater, that is what you exclaim. These graters and shavers are simply light years ahead of any comparable grater; you shave some Parmesan with them, and it falls like feathers of cheese from the blades, making your Parmesan mash as light as a pillow. Unbelieveable. And, edged out just narrowly by the Microplanes, is another vital ingredient to making that Parmesan mash into a perfect purée: the Rosle Food Mill. This looks like every other food mill, but it purées with such speed and ease, creating an ethereally light mountain of mash, that it makes every other food mill seem stone-age. Some cookery tools improve not just the quality of your cooking, but the quality of your life: these two do just that.