I love this grater! I have several different kinds, but this is my favorite because it comes with a container that fits perfectly into the bottom of the grater. I have a Microplane box grater, but it never gets used. We wash most things by hand, and it's easy to wash too. I will say that the silicone band that goes around the bottom of the grater gets a little gunky if you don't clean it properly, so before you wash the grater, take off that bottom part and wash it separately.

The major flaw is the curved design. The middle of the food grates down faster and the ends develop "points." As the points form and break, food litters the work surface. I bought the grater for the large slicing blade side, wide and high enough to slice a good sized piece of cheese. However, again, the shape causes oddly curved slices and lots of broken bits and ends. The gasket is a debri catcher. It isn't easy to fit the storage box onto the grater, though it can be done. However, the messiness caused by the curved design defeats the purpose of the container. All in all, a big and unexpected disappointment from KitchenAid.

I like this grater a lot more than my old box grater. It has a sturdy feel and I like the small holes on the back for grating cheese. I'd give this grater 5 stars if the handles didn't fill with water during washing. I drilled holes to drain the water out. The plastic tub is kind of useless too.

This box grater is very attractive, and coordinates nicely with the other KitchenAid kitchen utensils and that's about it. It's very sturdy, but quite large and cumbersome. It takes up a lot of room in a drawer. The handle is nicely cushioned, but quite thick. I have a small hand and find it uncomfortable to use. I bought it primarily for grating Parmesan cheese, but then discovered the microplane, which is far superior.

The last grater you'll ever want. Nothing extra, really, just your basic tool writ big and done right. Very large, stable, sharp. Easy to use, easy to hold onto, works very fast. After getting this, I ordered one for each of my adult kids. Everyone loves using it.

I received this as a wedding gift several years ago and have loved it ever since. The storage container with lid fits directly onto the bottom of the grater. Every once in a while it is a little hard to fit, but the convenience of it is totally worth it. I just bought it as a Christmas gift for a friend and she loves it too.

This a sturdy grater and I love the size. Mine also came with a plastic container and lid that holds the grated cheese for storage.

Mine came with a container on the bottom to catch the grated food. It sounded and looked like a great idea, until it quickly cracked and broke. I can and do still use the grater though. I mostly use my KitchedAid food processor though to do a lot of my grating. I pull this out when I already have my processor in use and/or dirty.

Works great at grating... much better than my pun. Easy to clean since you can fit your hand inside of it. The bottom is soft and works great on plates and glass. The plastic container stores nicely inside of it and stays in there until you pull it out. My only warning is that it is much biger than I thought, nice for use good for cleaning bad if you have a small kitchen.

I bought the red one from Amazon in Nov. 2002 (I viewed my purchase history). I thought that it would help people to know that almost 4 years later, it is still in tip top shape. I use a grater a lot. At least 3 or 4 times a week on average. I never buy pre-grated cheese, I grate my own. I make cole slaw at least once a week & use it to grate the cabbage & carrots. It has no rust spots on it at all. And is is still very, very sharp! I wash mine in my dishwasher. I have had friends & family who have admired mine & ended up buying one for themselves.

I agree with Roberta Goldberg (July 2006 review) the grater is a bit messy. Aesthetically it's large, sturdy, and really pretty. On the practical side, the various blades get the job done and it's of a relatively good quality, just be prepared to clean the countertop. I'm a self proclaimed "chef" and use all my kitchen equipment on a regular basis. The biggest problem I have with the grater is the container (the one you can't see through). It doesn't fit into place properly on the bottom of the grater as it should. I have to struggle with the rubber trim around the bottom of the grater each time I use it to get a flush fit. Kitchen Aid is great with their big ticket items, but their gadgets (garlic press, mushroom slicer, etc.) have all been great let downs from what I expect of their brand.

This is just a great piece of equipment. It works beautifully and is so thoughtfully designed with the storage container. It is, as others mention, a pretty large size. You need to make more space for it--but this feature also makes it easier to use (sturdier and with larger cutting surface). If I were ordering again I might instead go for the microplane one because of its somewhat more delicate appearance [I've used it and it's also superb}--but I have no complaints about this.

the quality is there, it works very well at the tasks designed for. very solid and all that. it is a grater plain and simple. my only issue is price, i'd say it would/should only be in the 14buck arena.

As I do a lot of home cooking from scratch, I was attracted to this product because of the bottom container with measurements thereon. Unfortunately the container is a dark charcoal, making seeing anything inside almost impossible. And, although most of what you are grating falls into the container bottom, quite a bit still falls in front of the grater (even if tilted backward at an angle), creating somewhat of a mess. Guess I'm back to using my flat metal grater which either hooks over the edge of a bowl or sits inside the bowl. Try again Kitchen Aid.

We have been using this grater for about a month and it is really well made and has a good grip. It is worth the exta cost but you need to be a little careful since it is sharper than the cheaper ones. It has not rusted in anyway.

I was looking for a LONG time for a good grater. I used to use my food processor, but what a mess! I purchased this one and WOW! Easy to use, sturdy, FAST cleanup (you can just toss it in the dish washer) and it looks great!

This is a very nice grater indeed. The one thing I don't like is that the lid to the bowl doesn't hold on; it just rests there and that makes me nervous transporting the bowl.If I slip up, the contents slip out!

Nice sturdy grater, the container is great too because you can grate right into it without it sliding around; also you can easily store what you have grated since the container has a tight fitting lid. Watch though as it is a sharp grater!

It's a little large however that's where the criticism ends, the product is smartly designed with a small plastic bowl and cover to hold the grated food. It is sharp but not dangerously so in my opinion. The plastic lined handle and based allow for great traction especially on the harder foods. I've used graters for many years for many reasons and this one is THE BEST!

At $20, this is overpriced for what it is: a decent but unremarkable box grater. The red is pretty. You do have to take off the rubber rim around the bottom to get it to dry, but it's no big deal to pull it off. It's large for a box grater -- the only bigger ones I've seen are 6-sided -- so you can't throw it in a drawer. It stands up to forceful potato-grating. I think it's a good grater but if I'd known at the time that Microplane had made a box grater, I would have bought that one instead.

I have to give this grater only 4 stars due to a design flaw. More on that later, but first, the good news:

-- The main reason I was so happy to find this greater is that the two main grating surfaces are COARSE and MEDIUM, not COARSE and FINE like virtually every other grater in the world. Why not more MEDIUM graters? I don't know. All I know is that I prefer to use a medium grater for most everything, and this is one of the very, very few MEDIUM graters (there's also one known as "the Greater Grater", which is pretty cool but is not as sturdy as this one and falls apart too easily.)

-- Yes, it's big. My other box grater fits comfortably *inside* this one. Which makes storing the two together rather convenient, actually. Anyway, a bigger grater means more grated cheese more quickly, right? I like the size just fine, but don't expect to stick it in the back of your silverware drawer...

-- Seems built like a tank. I'm sure it will last a long time.

-- The Empire Red color is really cool. If you don't get the red grater, you're missing out.

-- Yes, the rubber rim on the bottom *would* collect junk and be hard to clean, if I hadn't ripped it off and thrown it away immediately. Who needs it? The handle on the top is so big and sturdy, it's not like it's difficult to hold the grater in place or something... unless you like to grate cheese on top of greased glass?!?!

-- Can't comment on the tupperware catch-bin that comes with it. Seems fine, but I don't really use it as that's not how I operate.

Now for the bad news: On the first trip through the dishwasher, the tubular handle became filled with water. This water did not drain easily at all, in fact it's pretty much impossible to get out; however, just enough leaks out that you'll get grungy dishwater dripping into your grated cheese if you let it. Yuck!

However, the problem was easily rectified by two minutes with a power drill -- I just drilled a small 3/8" hole in each end of the plastic frame that's holding the handle in place. Now the water drains out just fine.

However, this is a phenomenally stupid design oversight on KitchenAid's part. Didn't they even test thing thing after a trip through the dishwasher? The handle could get water trapped in it even with hand-washing, I suppose, unless you were extraordinarily careful.

So, I would not advise you to get this grater unless you have a drill and some drill bits and don't mind making a slight modification to it after you receive it. Once the modification is complete, it's truly a great grater.

Nice, heavy duty...VERY sharp! Be careful. Only downside is that it is a little difficult to maneuver, as all sides have sharp cutting edges. Other than that, great item!

Finally a box grater that is comfortable to grip and doesn't feel like its going to collapse under my hand when I use it.

The little tupperware-ish insert is nice as well. It keeps a few servings of Parmesan handy in my fridge for pizza or salad, which is primarily what I use the grater for.

WOW! This thing is big! Not that there is anything wrong with that. It is very sturdy and well crafted like most KitchenAid products. I bought this grater to replace a flimsy OXO grater that cracked after less than a year.

The grating container is a nice touch but the grater and container don't snap together. If you lift the grater the container stays put. the lid doesn't really snap on like you might expect either. I wouldn't consider either of these design choices as flaws.

To the reviewer with the crumbly cheese: To get better results when grating soft cheese, put the cheese in the freezer for a little while prior to grating.

This is an excellent grater. It is like the 4 sided graters from the past. It is larger than expected. It's 10 1/2 inches tall. I had to find a new place for it.

Well, about the only good thing I can say for this is that it does look nice. However it is most certainly not worth the price in that it does not grate well at all. I mainly needed something to grate cheese with and all I get with this are crumbles. The box is difficult to attach and does NOT stay on securely. As other reviewers have noted, the little rubber edge at the bottom tends to collect crumbs and is difficult to clean. I had much better results with a cheap $2.00 grater from the grocery store. This thing is headed for the trash today and I am off to the grocery store to buy something that is at least useful.

(5/27/05) We are big fans of KitchenAid gadgets and own most of them. This grater was one of our more recent purchases (we had waited because of the price), and we kick ourselves for not purchasing it sooner. It lives up to the KitchenAid reputation of high quality and durability.

Overall, this was a very worthwhile purchase and we use it all the time. In fact, I find that I never buy pre-grated cheese anymore because I can so easily make my own. Saves us money!! This has also made me appear to be a better cook than I really am (Shhh! Don't tell!). I get a lot of compliments on my homemade mac-n-cheese! But really, it's incredibly easy.

You won't regret this purchase. In fact, you might kick yourself for not buying it sooner.

(Updated 4/18/07) I just want to add a quick note about cleaning - this product is relatively easy to clean, but be careful that you don't catch your fingers on the "blades" of the holes - they're sharp! As for the rubber bumper along the rim of the bottom, it easily slips off and is very pliable, making it easy to clean as well, even if it takes a little while to do so.

Two years later and I still use this product all the time!

This grater looks great and works really well. I'm a big fan of the containter that fits in the bottom to collect whatever it is that you're grating!

However, due to a couple of issues, I will most likey not be keeping it.

The rubber piece at the base of the grater collects cheese/veggies, etc. I have to remove the piece entirely after every use to clean it and it can be somewhat tricky to get back on.

I ran this through the dishwasher one time, when it came out, the handle was full of water, even though the item is supposed to be dishwasher safe. Most of the water drained out, but I don't like the idea of old water being left in the handle.

I have almost every Kitchenaid product that's available and this item lives up to the brand name's history. It's very sharp (watch your finger tips) and it plows through cheese like butter.

For some reason though I have trouble with carrots. The slicer on the side flexes too much and you can wind up with different slice thickness which can be a problem.

Overall, I would buy this product again.

Italian born and bred, I grate a lot of cheese. This grater is up to the task. It's easy to clean, sharp and versatile. I love the storage cup that's included and only wish that it was offered in colors other than black - red would be nice

I wanted a big sturdy grater and boy did I get one. This thing is so big and tall that I don't store it in the drawer where 'the grater goes' and I still use my smaller half broken one that fits in the drawer. Still, this is a good product if you have a place to put it.

I used this funnerific power tool at my cousin's wedding. I loved it so much, I just had to buy 7. I loved the storage pack because I could keep ice in it. My wife has OCD,so every thing in the kitchen is spray-painted blue, but it still works wonderfully, unlike my past ones.

The tupperware-like container that you can stick onto the bottom of the grater to store grated cheese, zest, etc. is a good idea, but the hard plastic is very brittle and an edge broke off just from the pressure of grating some cheese on the grater. It's a sharp edge, I might add. The container still functions, but it's dangerous.

My second complaint is that there's a somewhat flimsy rubber piece that goes around the bottom of the grater, which fills up with cheese, vegetable pieces, or whatever else you've been grating, and after only putting it through the dishwasher 2 or 3 times I noticed how all the gunk in there had gotten REALLY gross. Luckily it comes off easily and I just rinsed it off, but I'm not a fan of things like that, which just make this thing more of a pain to clean. I'd like to find a grater that looks this nice and works this well but doesn't have an issue like this.

This thing would be worth 5 stars if it weren't for the strange plastic ring around the bottom and the easily-broken plastic storage container that it comes with.

This huge grater has worked flawlessly on all the veggies and cheese I've used it on. I love the little storage container. It made it through the dishwasher (top rack) just fine. A previous reviewer said the grater itself could be washed on the bottom rack. I do not recommend this because when I tried it, the rubber gasket on the bottom of the grater became permanently indented from where it was sitting on the dishwasher rack. I don't see this as a flaw in the product, however, because I should have known not to put something with rubber on it on the bottom rack.

My old grater rusted. It's been tossed into the trash. The new grater has gone through the dishwasher and not a speck of rust.
I used this grater two days ago on a block of cheese. I grated extra cheese. So wonderful to have the extra stored in the grater container. It is just as fresh as when I grated it.
I plan on buying a this grater for both my daughter and daughter in law.