Boska Holland Black Plastic Girolle Cheese Curler Amsterdam - Explore Collection

I was watching a film last week--Particle Fever--which is about...well, particles, physics, & so forth, and what should appear in one of the scenes but this wonderful contraption that I'd never seen before.Quick as a bunny, I did my research & found one I liked--with the marble base--& now I am enjoying the cutest little curly cheese bits. They melt on your toast, they look great on a little plate at a buffet. And here's the thing: you do NOT need to use fancy cheese with this. Here's what you need: something in the form of a wheel--I used smoked Gouda from Trader Joe's--& you need to make sure it's nice & cold--I left it in the fridge on the spike overnight or until it's in the low 40s F.Now you need to forget trying to force anything. Don't mash down on it, or go too fast. Heck, I forgot to cover mine & it split, but I put a big rubber band around the base & just hold it with my left hand.When you get a nice curly section, reverse direction & gently scrape it off with your fingernail or a kitchen knife.I probably will use this a lot for a little while until something else comes along to distract me, but meanwhile, this is a great little tool!!UPDATEI have now officially used the Girolle (named after the particular mushroom that the cheese curls look like) with 'Tete de Moine' cheese (which is a seasonal product--arrives in late autumn, but I got the last one just by luck.) I'm sure other cheeses like Petit Basque, or Edam will work fine, too, just as the Gouda did, but Tete de Moine rocks!Took the whole contraption with us to a party & it was a total hit! Everyone marveled at the delicate taste of the shaved curls & they look so pretty on a plate with crackers. I also made some balsamic vinegar reduction to drizzle on the plate--beautiful combination of flavors!

After washing and drying as recommended in the package insert the base warped. It's uneven, unstable and very difficult to rotate the blade to create the lovely rosettes. I'm very disappointed and wouldn't buy this again - I purchased another from another vendor years ago and it has not had this problem.

Great European oak board with handle, easy screw in post and the rotary plain blade attachment. Great quality material (nice Dutch made product) and the blade can be sharpened to a razor edge if desired. Cheese curls twirl on the top of the appropriate semi-hard cheeses when the proper pressure is applied to the white plastic turning knob. A very short learning curve for most peoples can produce tasty thin curls. Note, this curler can be used for more cheeses than just the original "stinky" Swiss monks-head. P'tit Basque, by iStara, a mild sheep's milk cheese at correct temp curls beautifully when in the round shape and does not scare the heck out of many plain supermarket bag type cheese eating people. Please don't put this quality wooden board in a harsh dishwasher. Wood is just not meant to be treated that way.If you feel the need to use a dishwasher buy a stone type base. Occasionally treat the wood with an appropriate cutting board oil and you will have many happy parties together. The board and knife should last a lifetime. Good cheese eating to all!

The wooden board warped significantly after I started using it once without even washing it yet. It wobbles so much that it's difficult to curl the cheese. The curl knife did its job fine if you can manage with the board wobbling the whole time you're curling. I decided to return it. I would not buy this item again.

I recently purchased one and it's quite unique. Like it; however, I expected the dome cover to be used while the cutter was enguaged. Nope, you have to remove the cutter in order to fit the dcome on the board. Also, I find that the cheeses, when pressed on to the holder, ten to want to crack and split. This ruins the effect. I think an additional tool should be offered to slice a small round wedge from the center of your cheeses before pressing on to the holder to help avoid any additional cracking and splitting of the cheeses; kind of like a stainless steel straw that is sharp on one end. Please let me know if Boska developes one of these as I will purchase it.

I bought this curler on October 20th one month later the base became completely warped, I contacted Boska USA and they told me to send them a picture which I did send them 3 pictures showing the warped base, up to this date they did not have the courtesy of sending me an acknowledgment or anything else, really this is not fair

I read an article about this tradition, and I had to have one. I bought the dome, the cheese and some 27 year aged balsamic. The instructions suggest curling at 45 degrees F... So I let the cheese rest a bit after removing from the fridge. It worked perfectly, producing cheese petals that looked like carnations. Soon, our guests were producing their own curls to dip. As the article said, dipping these curls in balsamic is like painting rose petals red, or, as the expression goes - gilding the lily. We have a new Whole Foods market in town, so I'm hoping to find the cheese locally.

I gave this as a gift and it was such a hit that I ordered a couple more for friends. Of course, then I decided I needed one, too. So, needless to say, this has been approved by several people and is a keeper. I'd seen it used by a caterer at a party and it was the neat "flowers" it produced that nestled attractively in with the veggies and crackers on an appetizer tray. It's easy to use and fun to put out for friends to try. I found the Petite La Basquaise cheese wheel at Costco.