Grating cheese by hand can be arduous, especially if you need to process a lot of it. If you’re looking to make that job easy, consider an electric cheese grater. They are affordable pieces of kitchen equipment that make short work of that laborious task and many others too.

When considering the various models on the market, the Presto Professional SaladShooter stands out as a top choice for several reasons. It can be used in a freestanding capacity or held in the hand for more precise control over where you are grating or slicing your ingredients into, and it also boasts an adjustable guide that makes it easy to work with large or small chunks of food. Plus, it features color-coordinated blades for quick visual identification.

One of the great things about electric cheese graters is that they are rarely single-purpose tools. Instead, they generally come with several blades that also allow them to be used for slicing and shredding veggies. This makes them a versatile addition to any kitchen, and you’ll most likely quickly find many uses for yours that you may not have expected.

If you already own a stand mixer from a popular brand like KitchenAid or Cuisinart, you may not need to purchase a standalone electric cheese grater. There are attachments available for them that offer all the same functionality as electric graters, but are often more affordable and won’t require as much storage space.

Electric cheese graters are ideal for processing a lot of cheese or vegetables quickly. The majority need to be tethered to an outlet at all times and are designed to be placed down on the counter, leaving both your hands free for feeding the food or other actions that make the process go faster and more smoothly. This makes them well suited for prepping food when in the kitchen, but less so for use at the table or when serving guests.

Conversely, rotary cheese graters are relatively small, manual tools that can easily be held in the hand during use. This makes them perfect for grating cheese onto a plate at the table, but not as useful for processing a high volume of cheese. Most often they are single-purpose tools and are not capable of shredding or slicing veggies.

The more blades an electric cheese grater includes, the more versatile it will be in your kitchen. Some come with as few as two blade attachments, while others come with as many as four, all of which are designed for different tasks.

The size of the food chute plays a large role in how convenient a particular cheese grater is to use. If the food chute is very small, you’ll have to spend extra time cutting your cheese and veggies into tiny chunks before you can feed them into the grater.

All electric graters come with a pusher that you use to move food down the chute. This helps you keep your hands safely away from the blades when grating cheeses or slicing veggies.

Choosing an electric cheese grater with dishwasher-safe components will make the clean-up much more convenient. Typically, only the food chute and blade attachments can go in the dishwasher, and you’ll have to wipe down the housing that holds the motor by hand.

Other than attachments designed to be used with other kitchen appliances, there is little variety in the style of electric cheese graters. Because of this, nearly all of them cost between $40 and $60. The exception to this would be large commercial models, which can cost several hundred or more.

A. The best cheeses for grating are those with low moisture content, such as parmesan,  pecorino romano and asiago. You can also use cheese graters to slice a wide variety of other cheeses from semihard ones like cheddar to semisoft ones like mozzarella. With these kinds, you'll get the best results if the cheese has just been removed from the refrigerator and is still very cold.

A. If used properly, electric cheese graters are very safe. In fact, because you use a pusher to move the food down the chute and up against the blades, they are safer than manual cheese graters.

Presto Professional SaladShooter: available at Amazon, Home Depot, Wayfair and Kohl's

Our take: This handy device makes it easy to shred salads and grate cheeses directly onto a plate or into a serving vessel.

What we like: It is simple to operate, and the dishwasher-safe components make it a breeze to clean.

What we dislike: The motor is less powerful than those on many other models.

KitchenAid Fresh Prep Slicer/Shredder Attachment: available at Amazon, Macy's and Bed Bath & Beyond

Our take: If you already own a KitchenAid mixer, there are few better options than this versatile attachment set.

What we like: It includes blades for slicing, shredding and grating, and it doesn't require nearly as much storage space as most others.

What we dislike: It's hard to control where the food lands, so it can make a bit of a mess.

Tibek Electric Cheese Grater: available at Amazon

Our take: With a powerful motor and four attachments, the Tibek Electric Cheese Grater makes short work of a variety of foods.

What we like: It has a wide food chute to accommodate potatoes and other large vegetables, and it is backed by a 24-month warranty to give you peace of mind.

What we dislike: The grating cones can be easily damaged if you treat them too roughly.

Brett Dvoretz is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.

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