Cheese Curler

You probably think that you'll never use a cheese curler. You're wrong: Once one of these sturdy babies is on your counter, you'll wonder how you lived without it. Take a round of a hard cheese and push it down onto the central spike, then wind the hand-cranked curling knife around its surface and watch the paper-thin, uninterrupted shaving crinkle into beautifully airy swirls of dairy, the whispery rosettes enhancing the cheese's aroma and flavor. Boska—which has been making cheese tools for over a century—recommends using the curls to decorate a cheese plate; they're lovely there, but also add dimension and texture to a sandwich or salad. And if you're done with the savory course, give the whole thing a good wash and use it for making shaved curls of chocolate, instead. (If you're worried about not being able to finish a whole wheel of cheese in one sitting, the corresponding translucent dome helps preserve your dairy to curl another day.)