Zulay Kitchen Rotary Cheese Grater Review
I tested the Zulay 5-blade kitchen rotary grater on celery, zucchini, and cheese. Here's the blade-size lesson that changed everything.
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Quick Verdict
My cheese got chunked up and stuck to the drum on the first try, so I swapped to a bigger blade and it came out clean and fresh. This kitchen rotary grater is easy once you learn two things: go bigger on the blade, and lock down the suction base. I’ll probably never buy pre-shredded cheese again.
Buy if you:
- Grate cheese fresh and hate the pre-shredded stuff
- Meal prep celery, zucchini, and squash in batches
- Want a hand-crank tool with no cut fingers
- Have limited cabinet space for one compact grater
Skip if you:
- Reach for the smallest blade first, it clogs and sticks
- Won’t take a minute to dial in the suction base
- Want a powered electric shredder with no cranking
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| Blades | 5 interchangeable stainless steel drums |
|---|---|
| Base | Reinforced suction, left/right handed |
| Materials | BPA-free, food-grade |
| Cleaning | Hopper + blades dishwasher safe |
| Includes | Food pusher, compact storage box |
| Warranty | Lifetime (Zulay) |
The Blade Size Lesson I Learned the Hard Way
My cheese chunked up and stuck to the drum on the first attempt. That’s the lesson I want to save you from. It’s marketed as a cheese grater, but I ran celery, zucchini, and squash through it in the same session. The one thing that actually matters: skip the smallest blade. Every clog, every chunk of stuck cheese, every frustrating restart traced back to that drum. Swap to a larger grate and the problems stop. You can grab the current price on the Zulay kitchen rotary grater on Amazon here.
What’s In the Box and How It’s Built
Five stainless steel drums come in the box: one for coarse shredding, one for fine, plus slicing and dicing options. The distinction matters because grabbing the wrong drum is exactly how you end up with a clogged hopper and a block of cheese welded to the grate. The barrel is transparent so you watch the food come out, and it’s slightly inclined so material passes through without clogging. The food pusher sits on top so you never touch the blade directly, which is the whole safety pitch here. Zulay backs it with a lifetime warranty, and the hopper plus blades go in the dishwasher.
Zucchini Came Out Effortlessly
Once I switched to a bigger blade, the zucchini chopped up effortlessly. I’m not fussing, I’m not wrestling with the machine at all. I held the zucchini with my left hand and just twisted the rotary down, and it kept popping out a nice pile. That did a phenomenal job. Celery was harder at first because I had the smaller blade, so I was musling through it. The larger blade gives the food more room to pass through, and that’s one of the biggest things I figured out during this test.
The Suction Base Is the Step You’ll Forget
The suction cup at the base moved on me until I got it dialed in. You could see it wobbling while I was cranking celery. Make sure you adjust the suction cup at the base of the unit, because that helps out more so than anything else. I got into a habit of flipping it on, flipping it off, and re-seating it until I had a good lock to the table. Once it’s suctioned down, everything gets a lot better. Skip that step and you’ll fight the machine, which is exactly what I did before I learned my lesson. It only works on a clean, dry surface, so wipe your counter first.
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Zulay Kitchen Rotary Cheese Grater
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Who This Kitchen Rotary Grater Is For
If you cook fresh and hate buying bagged shredded cheese, this is for you. I threw a block of spicy jalapeno cheese in on my second attempt and it came out so quick, so easy. That softer cheese needed the wider blade, but once it was on there I had no problem. It’s small, portable, and easy to clean, so it fits a tight kitchen and a real meal-prep routine. If you chop celery for soups or grate zucchini for baking, you’ll get a lot of use out of it. It’s a hand-crank tool though, so if you want a fully powered electric shredder, this isn’t that.
Rotary Grater vs a Box Grater
A box grater is cheaper and simpler, but it’s slower and puts your knuckles near the blade. That’s the trade-off. With this rotary grater the food pusher keeps my hand away from the sharp drum, so I’m not risking a cut finger while I crank. The Zulay is bulkier to store than a flat box grater, and there are five blades to keep track of instead of four fixed faces. But for grating a whole block of cheese fresh, the rotary wins on speed and safety, no scraped knuckles, no slow back-and-forth dragging. If you only need a pinch of parmesan over pasta once a week, a box grater you already own beats paying for five drums you’ll never rotate through.
My Advice Before You Start Cranking
Start with a larger blade, not the smallest one. That single mistake cost me a redo on the cheese, where it chunked up and adhered to the grate. Lock the suction base to a clean, dry surface before you load anything, and test it with the handle off and on. Use the food pusher instead of your fingers to feed material through. Softer foods like jalapeno cheese need the wider grate to come out clean. Do those three things and you’re not wrestling the machine, you’re just twisting and watching it pop out.
Pros
- Zucchini and squash chopped effortlessly with the bigger blade
- Food pusher keeps your hand away from the blade
- Small, portable, and easy to clean
- Fresh cheese comes out quick once you pick the right drum
- Five interchangeable blades cover slice, dice, and shred
Cons
- The small blade clogs and sticks, especially with cheese
- Suction base wobbles until you take a minute to seat it right
- Manual cranking, so it takes some muscle on tougher produce
Frequently Asked Questions
Can it grate a whole block of cheese?
Yes, you just throw a block of cheese in the hopper and crank. I used a softer jalapeno block and it came out fresh and clean once I had the wider blade on. Softer cheeses need the larger grate or they’ll stick.
Is it dishwasher safe?
The hopper and blades are dishwasher safe, and those handle most of the mess. The base, handle, and food pusher just get a quick wipe. Overall it’s easy to clean.
Do I have to touch the blades?
No. The blades install without touching the sharp edge, and the food pusher keeps your hand out of the hopper while you feed material through. That’s the zero-cut-finger design.
Will it work for left-handed people?
Yes, it’s designed for both left and right handed use. I held the food with one hand and twisted the crank with the other, and it worked fine either way.
What surfaces does the suction base stick to?
A clean, dry, smooth surface works best. Wipe the counter first, then press the base down and test it before loading. Mine wobbled until I re-seated it properly.
Can it handle vegetables besides cheese?
Yes, I ran celery, zucchini, and squash through it. It’s listed as a cheese grater but it does carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, and nuts too. The zucchini came out effortlessly.
Why does my food come out chunky?
You’re probably using too small a blade. Switch to a larger grate and the food has more room to pass through cleanly. That fixed the chunking and sticking for me every time.
Is there a warranty?
Yes, Zulay backs it with a lifetime warranty as a family-owned US business. If something’s wrong, you contact them to sort it out. That’s reassuring for a hand-crank tool with moving parts.
Does it take up a lot of cabinet space?
No, it’s compact and comes with a storage box that keeps the blades organized. I found it small and portable, so it fits a tight kitchen without replacing a drawer of separate graters.
Get it now
Zulay Kitchen Rotary Cheese Grater
Get the best price on Amazon →This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
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