Garlic..Help!

[freefallin1309]

You don't have to totally mash the clove to peel it... just enough to split and loosen the dry skin. The clove itself can still be nearly whole, usable for either slicing or chopping.

It takes me less time to finely chop 3 or 4 cloves with a knife than it does just to clean the press after squeezing. I also prefer that I get more control over the size of the chop. The press is only good for crushed garlic, in my opinion.

You should register your hands then, film their heroic speed and make money on them . I can peel and squish 4 cloves faster than most can do 1 by knife and get the same size results. I'm not talking giant rough cut or sliced, I'm talking about 1-2 millimeter sized pieces that are nearly impossible to do with a knife and maintain any semblance of speed. The press makes it much smaller for sure, crushed as you say, and is perfect for those that don't like to chew pieces of garlic.

I should add the cleaning time for a garlic press is very quick, and you have to wash your knife anyway. People make it sound like rinsing a press out is time consuming and painful to do. They come with little presses that push out whatever is left in the holes ... use it, it will save you those precious seconds in cleaning.

 

[RPCookin]

You should register your hands then, film their heroic speed and make money on them . I can peel and squish 4 cloves faster than most can do 1 by knife and get the same size results. I'm not talking giant rough cut or sliced, I'm talking about 1-2 millimeter sized pieces that are nearly impossible to do with a knife and maintain any semblance of speed. The press makes it much smaller for sure, crushed as you say, and is perfect for those that don't like to chew pieces of garlic.

I should add the cleaning time for a garlic press is very quick, and you have to wash your knife anyway. People make it sound like rinsing a press out is time consuming and painful to do. They come with little presses that push out whatever is left in the holes ... use it, it will save you those precious seconds in cleaning.

Personally I don't consider a minute (about what it takes for 3 or 4 cloves) to peel and chop a few cloves to be a deal breaker. I simply don't like using crushed garlic in every dish I make, and that is ALL you can get from a press. Besides, I enjoy using my knives.

 

[freefallin1309]

Personally I don't consider a minute (about what it takes for 3 or 4 cloves) to peel and chop a few cloves to be a deal breaker. I simply don't like using crushed garlic in every dish I make, and that is ALL you can get from a press. Besides, I enjoy using my knives.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I enjoy other cuts of garlic as well. I enjoy them sliced lengthwise and thin to put on pizza, I also like the texture of a larger dice when on something like a steak or a pork loin. But when it comes to putting it into a sauce, I tend to want the texture invisible and the flavor the only evidence of garlic. I enjoy using our knives as well, or I wouldn't have so many But when someone comes out and says garlic presses are a waste of time and they can cut them faster with a knife, I have to remind them of reality ... garlic presses for crushed garlic cannot be beat speed wise. I've had professional chefs lose bets over this, they consider clean up time as part of prep time and they find out there is a difference ... you don't stop to clean the dishes in the middle of prepping ... you smash-->peel-->squish-->toss aside for later cleaning, when its time to clean everything else that needs to be cleaned anyway. I just don't understand the one-sidedness of people who are so adamant about not using a press. It's a tool just like your knife, corer, peeler, etc and it has its purpose, turning garlic into texture-less mush quickly. Do use a French knife to core an apple? Not when a corer is available, right? Its all about knowing the right tool for the job, the same thing goes in carpentry ... you don't use a screw driver as a hammer if a hammer is around.

 

[onelove]

I have never really cooked before. I am making a chicken and broccoli dish with garlic..How do you cut/cook garlic? The recipe calls for one clove. I just cut the galicin half peeled and then cut about 1/2 of the whole thing and tossed it in the pan...Is that wrong? ..

It is best to chop the garlic in fine pieces but you have to watch it in the pan so it won't burn. In my opinion it is easiest to buy a jar of minced garlic and on the jar it tells you how many teaspoons or tablespoons=so much fresh garlic

 

[kadesma]

It seems to me that no one is right nor is any one wrong..What works for you, me or the other person is the right way. I use to use my press all the time.Now I use the rasp I use to grate Parmesan..Is that wrong? Not for me, my hands cannot use a press any more the pain is unbearable..So the rasp...Remember what works for us is what counts and so to use a knife,a press, a rasp, is right and the fact that we cook and love doing it, that makes it the right way.
kades

 

[Scotch]

I agree with Kadesma. Do what works for you. Methodology is secondary to results, or as they say, The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

 

[nikospap]

As a Greek I think I am an experct on garlic. We basically put garlic in everything and -strangely- we love it!

 

[Predator04]

A garlic press is a unitasker, a kitchen tool that does only one thing. A tool that does only one thing is a waste of money and takes up space that could be used to store tools that do more than one thing.
Yes Im a Alton brown fan.
i for one hate the presses id rather chop them.

 

[GrillingFool]

My complaint with a garlic press is all that wasted goodness left inside.

 

[Selkie]

I've never met a garlic press that I've liked.

The small jars of diced garlic in oil has served me well for almost 40 years.

 

[apple*tart]

A garlic press is a unitasker, a kitchen tool that does only one thing. A tool that does only one thing is a waste of money and takes up space that could be used to store tools that do more than one thing.
Yes Im a Alton brown fan.

On the whole, I agree with this about uni-taskers (I'm an alton brown fan too!). I think it's an especially good guideline for small or storage-challenged kitchens.

I take a somewhat tempered approach to this, though. I consider size and the frequency with which I'll use a tool. If it's small and useful, and I'll use it often, I'm not so worried about it. The larger it is, the more I'll have to use it in order to buy it. But I do own some larger multi-taskers. A coffee maker, an ice cream maker, an air popper.

I think I lean more toward William Morris' approach:

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

 

[BreezyCooking]

I LOVE garlic, & there are very few savory dishes that leave my kitchen without it. As such, I have a few ways & tools for dealing with it.

1) Your garden variety garlic press. Rarely used these days but useful in a pinch, especially if you just want to crush & toss a clove - including the tasty "residue" - into a bowl of soup for added zing.

2) A garlic "slicer/grater". This little baby gets a lot of use. It's like a miniature mandoline for garlic. Has a little loading tube for the cloves, a little pusher, & 2 sides - one side is for producing paper-thin slices, the other for grating.

3) A large sharp flat-sided knife. Another tool that sees more use than the above two combined. A good smack with my fist on the flat side of the knife atop unpeeled cloves slightly crushes them & removes the peels instantly, then a light sprinkle of salt keeps the garlic from flying all over the cutting board while I'm chopping or mincing.

 

[Predator04]

On the whole, I agree with this about uni-taskers (I'm an alton brown fan too!). I think it's an especially good guideline for small or storage-challenged kitchens.

I take a somewhat tempered approach to this, though. I consider size and the frequency with which I'll use a tool. If it's small and useful, and I'll use it often, I'm not so worried about it. The larger it is, the more I'll have to use it in order to buy it. But I do own some larger multi-taskers. A coffee maker, an ice cream maker, an air popper.

I think I lean more toward William Morris' approach:

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

yea but like one person said on here most of the garlic is still in the press. you mostly get oil and mush. not worth it for me. i like to chop mine so i can make it hotter or less hotter ( the finer you chop it the hotter it till be. so the bigger cuts you make it wont be so hot) I love garlic and seeing it mushed up like that just makes me want to cry ( not really come on people!) its like murdering the garlic!

 

[apple*tart]

yea but like one person said on here most of the garlic is still in the press.

Ugh, my first garlic press was like that. With my current press (which I linked a few pages back), though, not so much. Especially if I peel the garlic before putting it in the press. It does have kind of a mushy texture, but I like that in most applications. I feel like it allows the garlic to really permeate and infuse the dish.

 

[freefallin1309]

A garlic press is a unitasker, a kitchen tool that does only one thing. A tool that does only one thing is a waste of money and takes up space that could be used to store tools that do more than one thing.

Just like a TV remote ... toss 'em, they can only be used for the TV so you might as well save the space and get up and change the channels and volume by hand

Specialized tools are made for a reason, to specialize.

 

[Predator04]

Just like a TV remote ... toss 'em, they can only be used for the TV so you might as well save the space and get up and change the channels and volume by hand

Specialized tools are made for a reason, to specialize.

exactly! now your getting it. i have a remote that cost me $1000 and it can do everything from turn on the ac to the sprinklers to the lights in the house. good looking out!

 

[freefallin1309]

exactly! now your getting it. i have a remote that cost me $1000 and it can do everything from turn on the ac to the sprinklers to the lights in the house. good looking out!

Doesn't sound like a TV remote at all, sounds like an expensive toy. It's good to be rich enough to throw away money A $10 garlic press does just wonderfully, it would seem a little overboard to buy one that would have enough attachments like a swiss knife that would warrant $1000 garlic press