Cheese Surplus

• In 16th century Paris, there was a cheese surplus because post-Enlightenment thought was to avoid meat consumption. Farmers rushed to convert their herds to dairy, and the market was flooded with cheeses of all types. This proved to be too much even for the French, and cheese inventory skyrocketed, causing some that were stored too long to grow hard.

Francois Boullier

• Francois Boullier developed a grater in the 1540s so that hard cheeses could still be used. HIs first one, made out of pewter, is now on display in a museum in Le Havre. His invention converted hard cheese into a table condiment that was wildly popular with Parisians in the 1540s and early 1550s.

Drought

• The continent of Europe was hit by drought in 1555, drastically depleting dairy stocks. The huge surplus of cheese immediately ended. By the 1580s, cheese was considered such a luxury product that to grate it on the table was anathema, and the grater fell out of favor for hundreds of years.

Jeffrey Taylor

• Jeffrey Taylor was an entrepreneur in Philadelphia in the 1920s. During the Great Depression, homemakers wanted to stretch their food budgets while also making appetizing-looking meals that appeared to have more ingredients than they did. This need was filled perfectly by the cheese grater. Taylor, a cheesemonger, read about Boullier's invention and decided to make his own, by sharpening the holes of a metal shower drain. The invention took off, and helped housewives by making their food appear "greater," hence the name.

Today

• Cheese graters come in many different shapes and sizes. Some have hand cranks, while others have very small holes and are called microplanes, suitable for zesting citrus or grating nutmeg. Some with unique styles or features can cost upwards of $50, though most hand graters are $15 or less.