Cooking For Engineers

[cabbage head]

when using this device does it matter how the food is placed to be shredded? If i was doing a block of cheese would i start shredding on the short side or the flat long side of cheese? (what would go against the grater) What would be the way to start ,never used one before.

[Michael Chu]

Depends on if the length of the shreds matter. (The angle you hold the food at will also result in longer or shorter shreds.) Usually this is not important, so any direction is fine. In fact, most of the time, it doesn't matter if you get a mix of shred lengths, so shred at whatever angle or side is comfortable at the moment. If you're shredding a lot of cheese, you may find yourself tiring and adjusting angles or orientation to get a better grip on the block of cheese. This is almost always okay.

(The exception to this is pretty much for looks. If you are making a garnish or something an need the pieces the same size. Outside of that, just shred away. Box graters are pretty much just brute force tools, so don't worry about it.)

[Thoth]

If shred length does not matter, I would hold the object being shredded with the smallest area making contact with the shredded. This reduces friction and makes for easier work.

So in your example of the cheese block I would (and do) start with the short side.