Wash the beet thoroughly under warm water and cut off the ends with a vegetable knife, so that it's in the shape of a sphere with two flat sides. Peel the skin with a vegetable peeler, holding the beet firmly and applying pressure as you make even strokes up or down its surface.

For coarsely grated beets, choose a sturdy, four-sided box grater with thick, stamped holes, rather than etched holes. Hold the handle firmly, pressing it downward onto a clean cutting board. Press the flat side of a cut and peeled beetroot onto the side of the grater with the largest holes, holding the vegetable near the bottom. Move the beet across surface, keeping it firmly pressed. Collect the grated root from the cutting board or open the grater's latch to empty the shreds, if your grater has a trap.

For finely grated beets, use a rasp-style grater, a paddle-like tool with a corrugated metal bar attached to a handle. Hold the peeled beet firmly on the cutting board, pressing it down so it doesn't budge. Run the rasp's paddle over the surface of the beet in even, downward strokes, being careful to avoid catching your fingers or knuckles. Collect the gratings from the cutting board.

Use a food processor's shredding blade, chopper attachment or grater attachment to grate whole peeled beets. In some cases, the processor's standard blade does the trick for coarsely grated beetroot. If your processor has a pulse button, use it -- this allows you to see how finely grated the beets are after each burst of the spinning blades.