My first thought was that this shredder was much like the one from East Side Mario's. I wanted a rotary grater/shredder because I prefer my cheese to be pungent. Much like people like their black pepper freshly ground (like I also do).

So I tried out this shredder with some Asiago cheese. I cut off a serving size and it's amazing how much it seems like you get when you shred a serving of cheese, it looks like so much more then that small cube. This rotary grater is easy to disassemble and clean, the little knob just turns counter-clockwise to unscrew. You have to hold the inside of the barrel down, to unscrew it otherwise the barrel will just turn backwards. It's okay, the inside (from the side) is not sharp.

I was satisfied that the shredder grated most of the cheese with very little left over in the hopper. You can simply rinse it off with a little finger scrubbing, and it's clean as new. The grater part is stainless steel. This grater is meant for hard cheeses and nuts.

I have small hands, and found it somewhat hard to hold the grater, my knuckle kept getting in the way that was easiest for me to use it. I might just not have a proper grip or found the right way to handle it. Either way this grater works well, but make sure you have a firm grip by pressing your thumb down on the plunger, not the inside of your hand like I did.

Hint: If you want to grate a less hard cheese, simply throw it in the freezer for a bit to firm up the cheese, preferably already cut in to cube shapes to fit the hopper. Usually about 30 minutes in the freezer. This is basically what they tell you to do with a food processor when shredding cheese.

* I was provided this product for free or at a reduced cost in order to provide a review.