We Tested 13 Rotary Graters and Found Two Winners

Rotary graters are 10x faster than box graters

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March 27, 2025 7:01pm EDT

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Gefu Rotary Graters Milk Street Test Winners

We Tested 13 Rotary Graters. Our Top Picks?

Gefu’s tabletop and handheld versions. They’re comfortable and sturdy to use, plus they grate, flake, chip and shred cheese, veggies and more in a snap.

Why do you need a rotary grater? They hit the sweet spot between a food processor and lesser manual graters. With a rotary grater, a 360-degree spinning drum takes in ingredients and turns out perfect shreds over 10 times faster than manual box graters or microplanes. Unlike a cumbersome food processor, there’s no heavy base, loud motor, awkward parts to wash or even need to plug it in. And the continuous motion of feeding a vegetable or piece of cheese through a smoothly rotating drum is far easier (and more efficient) than wearing out your hand and wrist shredding pounds of carrots or potatoes on a manual grater.

So, we narrowed a field of 13 players down to two winners: a faster tabletop model with multiple cutting disks, built for larger jobs, and a convenient handheld option that goes from counter to table for smaller finishing tasks (it’s also won a Red Dot Design Award).

How We Tested Them

Every model was tested blind by our staff, identifiable only by number, and graded on usability metrics, like overall appearance, construction quality, comfort of use, ease of cleaning and ease of changing blades. Each grater had to go through three prep tasks as well: how well it grates hard cheese (Parmesan), chocolate and carrots.

Why We Loved the Gefu Transforma Tabletop Rotary Grater

Gefu Transforma Tabletop Rotary Grater with Three Drums

Sturdy, Securable Base Won’t Move

Unlike other models that tip or wobble the minute you start to use them, the Gefu isn’t going anywhere. The base has a strong built-in suction cup, as well as a clamp that will hold it in place. Plus, a sturdy handle that rotates fluidly also goes a long way in keeping operation smooth and steady.

Three Interchangeable Blades for Variety, Plus Accessories

Switch out three laser-cut blades for the shred you want. Plus, a spatula and “pusher” help safely insert ingredients into the drum or scrape them out after they’re processed.

Easy to Take Apart—and Dishwasher-Safe

The Gefu comes apart easily and the drums are large enough to clean internally, if you’d like to do so by hand—but even better, the blades, accessories and food-touching surfaces can go right into the dishwasher (we do not recommend putting the base into the dishwasher).

Use the Gefu to slice, finely grate and coarsely grate vegetables, fruit, hard cheese, soft cheese, chocolate and nuts.

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Why We Loved the Gefu Handheld Rotary Grater

Comfortable to Hold and Sturdy Under Use

Unlike some clunkier options, the Gefu is comfortable to hold and operate without feeling flimsy. This model also comes apart easily for cleaning in the dishwasher, and we noticed that carrots didn’t visibly stain this grater (other contenders did end up with stains).

Goes Conveniently to the Table (or, Store Your Shreds in the Hopper)

Grating cheese or chocolate at the last minute? Take the lightweight handheld grater straight to the table for a fresh dusting. Prepping in advance? Grate your ingredients into the roomy hopper to hold until you’re ready for them.

Prettiest and Finest Job Shredding

Handheld models on the whole offer a finer grind, which is also the case for this grater, but the Gefu boasts two drums for a fine or coarse grate too. For cheese, the handheld Gefu delivers the smoothest job and finest grate (soft cheese looks particularly pretty shredded with the handheld). The Gefu is also powerful enough to take on chocolate and carrots.