Microplane herb mill

I remember the first time I saw a Microplane zester. It was the late '90s and the Microplane still looked like the woodworking tool that it had started out as (just a straightforward rasp, no fancy handle). Flash forward a decade and Microplane has a whole range of kitchen tools with colored handles and beautiful design.

And the word Microplane has become a part of recipe language. When you write a recipe and you want to be sure that people are getting the same type/quantity of citrus zest as you're expecting them to get, you pretty much have to tell them that you used a Microplane. (See my post on the subject.)

Anyway, blah, blah, blah. Here we are in 2010, and Microplane continues to put itself in our kitchens in a way that makes it hard to imagine how we accomplished these tasks before their tools existed. Microplane's fiercely sharp cutting edges can now be found in an herb mill. Put fleshy herbs (cilantro, parsley, mint, dill) in the body of the mill and a simple twist of the handle produces perfectly minced (not smooshed and bruised) herbs.

Not content with the sleek stainless steel look of the mill standing up, Microplane also made the bottom of the mill (with it's surgical-grade blades) pretty darn cute.

The mill is available for $24.95 exclusively from Sur la Table through the end of this year. Starting January 2011, it will be available nationwide.