Handmade pure copper grater with sharp blades makes fluffy oroshi.
this grater has so sharp perforations on the surface of the copper plate tighten with roller. It can make delicious grated radish keeping original taste of radish and its juice. It is usable on both sides. The back side is usable for grating wasabi.Handmade uneven blades make finest oroshi.
The copper plate is tighten with a roller and hit and hit by craftsman with hammer many times. These processes are important. Thus, it gets firmer and the sharp perforations on it gets more tough. Moreover, the sharp perforations are made by hand,so they are not in a line and each of them is a little different size. As a results, ingredients are caught with them easily, so you can grate food efficiently. This is the most different things from mass produced products which all the forms are decided on. It is superior in durability, it will be usable for the decade under heavy use by professional chefs. In addition it can be repaired three times. Therefore,it can be used for 40 years. It will be able to used in your life time.
I compared three types of graters by actually using.
Ohya's grater, ceramic grater, and aluminum grater.
First I tried the ceramic grater. I felt like I was grinding the radish with strong power and crushing the radish than grating, because the saliences on the surface were not so sharp, delicious soup of radish came out more and more. Actually the juice has good taste,so it's a pity to waste it. Since the juice went out from the inside of the radish,the completed oroshi was soggy and was not volumy. It was a hard work. I turned the radish up down, right or left on it.
Secondly I tried an aluminum grater. It was a little easier to grate than ceramic one. But the oroshi was also soggy and not volumy . It may cut too finely, so it was hard to feel the taste of delicious Japanese radish.
On the other hand, ohya's hand made copper grater has so large and sharp perforations on its plate. The perforations cut radish into pieces. The radish pieces were not too small. So the each piece may be able to keep delicious juice inside. It was crunchy, juicy and tasty.
The picture shows a comparison between the oroshi grated with Ohya's one and ceramic one. Please look at this. There is a difference in the volume. It is obvious to the eye.
How to Care
After use,please wash it as soon as possible, it is difficult to wipe off water with dish cloth because of the rough surface. So you should through hot water on it and dry with remaining heat.
please scrape the fiber of vegetable and fruits which got into the ditch with tooth brush.
The copper plate gets plated, but it will discolor. Please continue using thinking it has taken an antique look.
At least more than 10 years is okay, but if the cutting quality gets worse, please contact us.[takuminohako@gmail.com] Craftsman of Ohya repairs it. The old sharp perforations are cut off and the copper plate gets plated again. New sharp perforations are made by the craftsman. When your grater comes back from repair, it will seems to be new. It will be shiny although there are traces of cutting old sharp perforations.
(The charge for the work is at half price of the product's price.)
The grater on the right side of the photograph was made by Ohya's predecessor. He continued using it more than 40 years. It is exactly usable throughout the life.