When it comes to kitchen equipment, there are some instances where you must accept no substitutes. Like for a sharp chef's knife, or a heavy-bottomed cast iron skillet. Or a Microplane rasp grater.

A rasp-style grater, with its short, razor-sharp notches, can not only make short work of grating cheese, chocolate, citrus zest, nutmeg, ginger, and many other ingredients, it’s also easier to grip ...

Files are easily taken for granted. They’ve been around for thousands of years, predating even the ancient Egyptian culture of the pharaohs and the pyramids. They’re usually relegated to dusty drawers ...