By its very nature, salad is a healthy meal, but if you are trying to incorporate more vegetables into your classic Cobb salad to get the recommended daily allowance or want to add a little color to your winter Greek salad, using a grater can help you do just that. A common box grater, hand grater, or whatever you might have in your culinary arsenal is all you need to shred some carrots, onions, beets, cauliflower, or even bell pepper for some added texture and taste.
To create a beautiful pile of shreds of veggies you are going to want to start by washing your vegetable of choice. You may have to scrape or peel it as well, but that is generally a personal preference depending on the texture of the vegetable. As long as your veggies are clean you really do not need to waste time on peeling them; however, when you start grating, there are a few things to consider.
Size and quantity
The first thing to think about is how large you want your shreds to be. If you have options with your grater, you may want to be creative and do a fine grate for your red onion and a larger grate slot for your carrots, jicama, and cabbage. If you are worried about quantity, it may take a little experimenting to figure this out. A medium carrot will produce about a half cup of shredded carrot while a cucumber is about a cup when shredded.
Whatever type of grater you use, watch your fingers or you might end up with a few scrapes and cuts on your fingertips. If you want to prep your salad ingredients ahead of time, grated veggies should be good to eat for several days if refrigerated in an airtight container. You can also drizzle them with a little lemon if you are worried about discoloration.
