Whether you're shaking up big-batch cocktails that require the zest of 16 oranges, adding the finishing touches to a cake with a delicate sprinkling of curly dark chocolate shavings, or grating garlic and ginger into a fine paste so the flavors melt into your curry dish, you'll need a sharp microplane grater. Don't have one? Let's change that.

A microplane grater is small and sleek grater. It works just like a traditional grater, except its holes are smaller—micro, you could say. (Get it?) Normally, on one end is a long, thin piece of metal covered in tiny holes with sharp, slightly raised edges. The other end has a handle made of plastic or rubber.

It depends. If you're looking to roughly shred ingredients—think potatoes for hash browns, a giant hunk of cheddar for macaroni and cheese, and so on—a regular box grater with large holes will do the trick. But if you're looking to grate something super finely—like the ginger in an Asian-inspired ginger vinaigrette, garlic in the marinade for Peruvian roast chicken with aji verde, or the lemon zest garnish for these baked feta bites—you need a microplane. The blades are sharper, smaller, and denser, which results in a finer and more consistently grated product.

We turned to the internet to find microplanes that at-home cooks swear by in their kitchens. We looked at only the most well-reviewed tools that had customers raving about their sharpness, ease of use, and durability. We settled on all-purpose graters, ones designed for specific uses, and others that come in a set with different size blades. No matter what you are cooking, there's a microplane grater that'll work for you on this list.

This microplane grater has almost 29,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, which speaks for itself. "This is probably the last zester I'll ever need to buy," this customer said. That's because it's sharp, well-made, and works for any zester/grater needs, whether you're shaving citrus or chocolate. Even better, it comes in a 25 different colors, so pick one that perfectly matches your kitchen.

This Deiss zester is another big winner online. It's especially great if you find yourself zesting things in large quantities: The face of the metal grater is slightly bigger than our top pick, and more surface area equals faster zesting. Plus, "the handle is a soft non-slip material that’s extremely comfortable to hold," this reviewer said.

Looking for the versatility? We recommend this Microplane set, which comes with four different graters. Each has a different-sized blades suited for different purposes, from grating potatoes and coconut to shaving chocolate and ginger. "[They] work very well and stack easily in the utensil drawer," this customer raved.

Let's start with the handle. As part of the OXO Good Grips line, it's made of rubber, meaning you don't have to worry about it slipping out of your hand. There's also a rubber foot at the top, so you can stand the grater on its head without it sliding around on your cutting board. We love it for citrus because "a very light pull will give you longish tiny ribbons of zest with no pith at all—and the zest falls easily to the plate or board under it," this reviewer wrote.

Freshly grated nutmeg is soooo much better than the pre-grated stuff. The best way to turn that hard nutmeg nut into a soft powder? This microplane meant for spices. Its size is smaller than that of a traditional microplane, with a shorter handle and blade. The grater's face is also rounded to make grating small spices like cinnamon and nutmeg a little safer and easier. "A quick, easy, no-fuss, minimum-cleanup yet effective way to grate a bit of cinnamon into my coffee!" this customer said.

Love your microplane, but hate that ingredients fly everywhere once grated? This bowl grater, solves that problem because it's designed to fit perfectly over most bowls. It comes in two sizes: regular and fine. This reviewer loves it way more than a box grater, calling it "far less messy and easy to clean."

For when you want to grate ingredients like garlic, ginger, and cheese super finely, a microplane is a must.

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