I have a rule about electric versions of hand tools: they are usually a waste of counter space. Electric pepper grinders, electric can openers, I have tried them and gone back to the manual version. So when my sister gave me an electric grater for my birthday, I thanked her warmly and planned to donate it. Then I actually used it, and now I owe her an apology.

What it replaces

The box grater works fine, but it has one problem: it is a knuckle hazard. I have grated more than my share of knuckle into the cheese over the years. The electric grater has a food pusher that keeps your fingers away from the blades entirely, which alone sold me. No shredded knuckles, no shredded fingernails.

Why it won me over

It is not that the box grater was broken. It is that the electric grater made me grate more often, because it takes zero effort:

• Cheese for pasta in ten seconds, and freshly grated tastes noticeably better than the bagged shreds.
• Vegetables for stir fry. Carrots, cabbage, and zucchini shred in seconds instead of a minute of arm work.
• Butter for baking. Cold butter grates into flour perfectly, which makes pie crust way easier.
• Garlic and ginger with the fine drum. No more mincing by hand.

The parts that are not great

Honest review, it has flaws. It takes up drawer space, and there are multiple drums to store. The motor is loud enough that my dog leaves the kitchen when I use it. And you have to clean the drums by hand because they do not survive the dishwasher. But those are minor compared to the fact that I use it four or five times a week, which is four or five times more than I used the avocado slicer.

Who should buy one

If you cook often and grate cheese or vegetables more than twice a week, this is worth the counter space. If you mostly heat up frozen meals, skip it. I was the skeptic, and now the electric grater lives on the counter instead of in the drawer, which in my kitchen is the highest honor a gadget can earn.