Delonghi is a popular maker of kitchen products, and today we are going to have a look at their DFG440 electric cheese grater. This is essentially an updated version of one of their most popular rechargeable cheese grater models, and has been updated to include a few new features. Can it match up to the original, or is it simple a poor clone? Lets take a look at this below.
Product Features:
With a respectable retail price of around $40, the Delonghi is aimed at those who are looking for a decent yet affordable grater. The design of this mini cheese grater is somewhat simple, and it looks good enough in the white casing. The handle of the unit is a shade of grey, which features the logo written in red. The casing of the unit is made out of hard plastic, and it feels light yet durable. When it is not in use, the model can be left in the cradle which charges it at the same time. Delonghi claim that the grater will produce 100 dishes of cheese before needing a recharge! This is quite an accomplishment, and it seems there is some truth to this as we did at least 10 dishes without any noticeable dip in the power of the motor. The drum is made out of stainless steel, but the downside is that there is only one included. The sizing of the drum is quite fine, which should be acceptable for most people.
The unit itself is quite easy to use. You simple cut your cheese into smallish cubes, lift the lever and place them into the receptacle. One difference between this model and the older one is that the new model has a plastic section which pushes the cheese against the drum. The old model had a rubber piece in this place, but we think the plastic bit does a better job of managing to push that last bit of remaining cheese against the drum.
Once you have your cheese loaded up, you put a little pressure on it using the handle and press the button to activate the drum. How much pressure will depend on what kind of cheese you have. We noticed that the softer varieties were fairly hassle free to grate. The harder kinds of cheese such as parmigiana did put a bit more strain on the motor, but it did manage to grate them in a timely manner. Delonghi also claim that the unit can grate other kinds of food such as dry bread, chocolate or nuts such as almond or hazelnut which is a nice bonus. Unfortunately we only tested this model with cheese, so we can’t say how well it would perform with these. With a few different grades of cheese it did perform ok. Being a rechargeable it is a little underpowered, but nonetheless it does do an acceptable job of grating cheese.
Like most electric cheese graters, this model can be a little difficult to clean at first. Our model was a bit tricky to pry apart, but after a few times it seems to loosen up a bit which makes the entire process a bit easier to manage. Once you have the hang of it, you should be able to clean it out in a minute or two.
So that more or less sums up the Delonghi DFG440. It is a well priced battery operated cheese grater, which does a decent job. There are hardly any quality rechargeable graters on the market today, so if this is what you are after then the DFG440 is a good choice. It comes standard with a one year warranty.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Runs for a long time on one charge
- Easy to use
- Can grate firm cheese
Cons:
- Only one drum size
Summary:
The Delonghi DFG440 is a good choice is you want a rechargeable cheese grater. It can handle tougher kinds of cheese, and it doesn’t cost a fortune. You can check the current pricing and view some of the many user reviews on Amazon using this link.
| Our Rating: |
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| 4 |