A garlic press. I avoided them for years because of a mixture of guidance saying it’s just as easy to chop it or it tastes worse from a press. I don’t have the tastebuds to notice it being any worse and it’s certainly a lot easier than chopping since you don’t even have to peel it.
The “tastes worse from a press” is entirely dependent on the material of the press you’re using. Garlic reacts with stainless steel, hence those stainless steel “soap bars” they make to remove garlic smell from your hands. I got a zinc press for this exact reason.
How you prep garlic depends on what you are doing with it, or what the recipe calls for.
What it comes down to, the more garlic flavor you want out of a clove, then the more you need to damage the garlic’s cellular walls.
So this means if you want some garlic flavor, then a rough chop would be fine. If you want a good amount of flavor, then mincing is necessary. If you want a metric f#$k ton of garlic flavor then you run it through a press.
Why wouldn’t you just use fewer garlic cloves and just use the press all the time? There are many reasons, but mainly because a pressed clove may be too over powering for the recipe. Also, if you are doing a slow cook, then larger pieces of garlic will enfuse the recipe better over the longer cook time than pressed garlic.
I hope the above makes sense. On the surface it appears that it’s just better to press garlic cloves and just adjust the amount you put in the recipe. However, there are real differences to the final product based upon how the garlic is prepped and added to the recipe.
Never tried that, but I use the press and roll method. Simply press the garlic clove into a cutting board and roll it around a bit while pressing down on it. The peels mostly come off straightaway. I combination with my cheap garlic press, it’s been so nice dealing with garlic such that I use it more.
You can also just use a cocktail shaker or a jar with a lid and shake them. Peels come off so easily and you just mostly sift through them to get the cloves.
A garlic press. I avoided them for years because of a mixture of guidance saying it’s just as easy to chop it or it tastes worse from a press. I don’t have the tastebuds to notice it being any worse and it’s certainly a lot easier than chopping since you don’t even have to peel it.
Wait, you don’t have to peel it if you press it?
The “tastes worse from a press” is entirely dependent on the material of the press you’re using. Garlic reacts with stainless steel, hence those stainless steel “soap bars” they make to remove garlic smell from your hands. I got a zinc press for this exact reason.
I just smash it with a cleaver. Faster than pressing and more fun.
How you prep garlic depends on what you are doing with it, or what the recipe calls for.
What it comes down to, the more garlic flavor you want out of a clove, then the more you need to damage the garlic’s cellular walls.
So this means if you want some garlic flavor, then a rough chop would be fine. If you want a good amount of flavor, then mincing is necessary. If you want a metric f#$k ton of garlic flavor then you run it through a press.
Why wouldn’t you just use fewer garlic cloves and just use the press all the time? There are many reasons, but mainly because a pressed clove may be too over powering for the recipe. Also, if you are doing a slow cook, then larger pieces of garlic will enfuse the recipe better over the longer cook time than pressed garlic.
I hope the above makes sense. On the surface it appears that it’s just better to press garlic cloves and just adjust the amount you put in the recipe. However, there are real differences to the final product based upon how the garlic is prepped and added to the recipe.
This is an excellent comment. This isn’t the image you reminded me of, but still helpful.
Oh man, a great hack is to microwave your garlic for about 5 seconds and the peel comes right off.
Take two bowls, toss the garlic cloves in, put the bowls together like clamshells and shake. Peels come right off.
Never tried that, but I use the press and roll method. Simply press the garlic clove into a cutting board and roll it around a bit while pressing down on it. The peels mostly come off straightaway. I combination with my cheap garlic press, it’s been so nice dealing with garlic such that I use it more.
You can also just use a cocktail shaker or a jar with a lid and shake them. Peels come off so easily and you just mostly sift through them to get the cloves.