A kitchen utensil that is used to remove tiny bits of flesh from the irregularly shaped ginger root. This tool is small, hand held and may be stainless steel or made of porcelain. The stainless steel variety is typically made with a handle connected to a plate with protruding sharpened prongs that cut into the flesh and remove the bits of ginger. The porcelain grater has rows of raised cutting heads that have sharp points formed into the porcelain plate that do the grating as the ginger is moved across the plate.
In addition to grating ginger, Ginger Graters can be used to grate other foods such as carrots, cheese, chocolate, or hard textured items and in addition may be used for zesting citrus fruits. The porcelain grater however, which does not have openings adjacent to the grating prongs, may develop friction resulting in heat as the grating motion is undertaken. Thus, it may not be a good choice for grating chocolate.