Therese Ryan (@thereseryan12) seemed simultaneously upset and happy after finding out the right way to use a cheese grater.
She shared her bittersweet reaction in a viral TikTok that’s amassed 2 million views.
“The crap I learn off TikTok,” the woman, says at the top of her video.
She then picks up a cheese grater and slams it against a wooden cutting board. Then she flips it on its side, rather than holding it upright.
Next, Ryan holds up a block of cheese with her left hand to the camera with a mirthless smirk. She looks back down at the grater, stabilizing it by holding its handle with her right hand. Next, she takes the brick of cheese and begins pushing it against the grater. Shards of the cheese fall onto the metal grater cylinder.
@thereseryan12 Did you know! #cheese #grater #tiktokviral #hack ♬ original sound – Therese Ryan
The right way to use a cheese grater?
The look on her face showcases a lifetime of regret: As it turns out, she could’ve been grating cheese more efficiently this entire time. Instead, she, like so many of us have probably done, has opted to grate it vertically.
At the end of her clip, she demonstrates how the cheese collects inside of the stainless steel grater. She then holds it up, showing it fall down onto the cutting board beneath it. We could’ve been grating our cheese, collecting it in the cowbell-shaped device this whole time. And when we were done, we could more efficiently dump said cheese onto our favorite dishes.
Instead, we wasted time and risked hand abrasions in the process.
Chefs been knowing this
If you’ve searched online for the correct way to use a cheese grater before watching Ryan’s video, then this isn’t surprising info. Epicurious uploaded a YouTube clip where they demonstrated this technique they adopted from Chef Frank Proto.
The video shows a similar grater turned on its side with a hand working away on a hunk of cheese. Its interior is loaded with cheese, and then the clip transitions to Proto describing his cheese grating technique. “So I take a smaller piece of cheese. And when I grate it, grater on the side.” He then lifts up the item vertically to delineate what not to do. “Not like this—I call that Granny style. I put the grater on the side, I hold the tray, and the grater together, and I push. This way, you’re doing less work. You’re using your body weight, not necessarily your muscles.”
TikTokers were divided
However, viewers don’t seem all that impressed about the cheese grater discovery Ryan and other TikTokers like her have recently made.
“Wait till you all find out it comes pre shredded in a bag,” one person sarcastically remarked.
Another said, “This is the function of a grater. What am I missing?”
While another replied: “This is like common sense..???”
“That’s how I was taught,” someone else said.
However, there were other TikTokers who were impressed by Ryan’s discovery.
“Ohhhh, my entire 49 years I’ve been doing this wrong,” someone else wrote.
“Today years old I learned…” another penned.
“Omggg all years, struggling, trying to hold it in place,” a third commented.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Ryan via email for further comment.
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