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 ...

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has begun using a special rasp tool to shave off bits of the hard icy material on the Martian ground. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free ...