Home › Home & Kitchen › Kitchen & Dining › Kitchen Utensils & Gadgets › Graters & Zesters How to Grate Cheese Published: July 9, 2026 · Updated: July 9, 2026
Chill the cheese firm, then push it down the large holes of a box grater for melting cheeses, or shave hard cheeses like parmesan on the fine holes or a microplane. Cold cheese and the right hole size are what stop soft cheese smearing and clogging the grater.
Recommended Cold cheese, big holes for melters and fine holes for hard cheese — chill soft cheese to stop smearing — Grating cheese well comes down to two things: keeping the cheese cold so it stays firm, and matching the hole size to the cheese. Soft and semi-soft cheeses like cheddar, mozzarella, or Monterey Jack warm up and turn greasy in your hand, so chill them in the fridge (or 15 minutes in the freezer) and grate them on the large holes of a box grater, pressing down with flat strokes. Hard, dry cheeses like Parmesan, Pecorino, or aged Gouda grate to a fine fluff on the small holes or a microplane, which is what you want for melting into pasta or dusting a dish. Hold the grater steady on a board or over a bowl, keep your fingertips clear as you near the end (a nub is safer discarded or saved for soup), and grate only what you need since grated cheese dries out. If soft cheese still clogs, chill it harder or wipe a drop of oil on the blades. Pre-shredded bagged cheese is coated with anti-caking starch and melts less smoothly, so grating your own melts and tastes better.
