And then..it broke in my hand!

[VeraBlue]

After reading most of the responses to the garlic press thread, and admitting I don't bother with my own...I decided to give it another try yesterday evening. I had a fair amount of garlic to chop. It was a good piece of equipment, 'was' being the operative word there. I spent a fair amount of change on it so I figured it would be able to press two cloves at once. Sure, it did the first two...but the second two were the proverbial straws that broke the camel's back. As I pressed, one of the arms broke right there in my hand. Several expletives later, I was back to chopping garlic the way I'd been doing for years. So much for modern technology.

Looking at all the conveniences we have in our kitchens, are there any you just don't bother with because it's just too inconvenient to deal with? Is by hand faster than setting the thing up? Is there too much clean up involved with a particular piece of equipment?

For instance, my food processor is a work of art and well respected...but sometimes, a box grater works just as well with less fuss and muss.

What about you?

[FryBoy]

As for the garlic press, the best I've found is from Zylizz, a Swiss company. It's made of a heavy, very strong aluminum alloy, and it ain't likely to break in this lifetime. Also, recently I've been buying peeled garlic from China (where most now comes from). Each bag contains about 30 large cloves, vacuum sealed in little bags of 5 cloves each. Convenient, last a lot longer than fresh whole cloves. No additives -- just garlic.

I'm with you on the food processor. I've had several over the years, and they're rarely used. One exception is my little Cuisinart Mini, which I like for making fresh crumbs and sometimes for blending sauces or dips made with fresh herbs. But the big ones -- unless I'm making a large quantity of soup or something that calls for tons of veggies, forget it! My knives are faster, and the end result is better -- more evenly cut.

[goodgiver]

Originally Posted by FryBoy

As for the garlic press, the best I've found is from Zylizz, a Swiss company. It's made of a heavy, very strong aluminum alloy, and it ain't likely to break in this lifetime. Also, recently I've been buying peeled garlic from China (where most now comes from). Each bag contains about 30 large cloves, vacuum sealed in little bags of 5 cloves each. Convenient, last a lot longer than fresh whole cloves. No additives -- just garlic.

I'm with you on the food processor. I've had several over the years, and they're rarely used. One exception is my little Cuisinart Mini, which I like for making fresh crumbs and sometimes for blending sauces or dips made with fresh herbs. But the big ones -- unless I'm making a large quantity of soup or something that calls for tons of veggies, forget it! My knives are faster, and the end result is better -- more evenly cut.

Where did you find the garlis in vacuum sealed bags. What a find. Please tell us.

[FryBoy]

I buy the peeled garlic at Von's, which is a division of Safeway here in L.A.

It's from a company called Global Farms. The local store puts it in the produce section, near the bagged salad and other packaged veggies, even though it says to keep refrigerated. It's in a clear plastic bag about 8" by 5" with red label. It says, "Ingredients: Garlic (no preservatives)."

Actually, I was wrong in my earlier post -- it contains 10 little vacuum-sealed bags that each hold 4 large cloves of garlic. I have found that the bag keeps about a month -- I bought this bag last weekend and it's labeled "Best by 8/18/06." When the cloves no longer look good, I toss the rest of the bag. I think it was $3.

[licia]

I saw someone many years ago do the crush and smear (my term not theirs) technique with garlic - crush with a chef's knife and smear with a bit of salt. It comes out very fine. I'm still a bit clumsy with it but it certainly works. I do use the garlic press sometimes and it has held up so far.

[FryBoy]

The nice thing about the "crush" technique is that you don't have to worry about peeling the fresh garlic -- just lay an individual clove on your cutting board, put the SIDE of your chef's knife on top of the garlic, and press down or give it a whack with your fist. The clove is crushed, and the peel comes right off. The garlic then can be chopped with a couple of quick strokes of the blade.

Actually, with a good press, like the Zylizz I mentioned, you don't have to peel, either -- the peel stays in the press when the good stuff is forced out through the holes.

With either, however, I like to cut off the root end of the garlic clove. No good reason, I just don't like the way it looks. Of course, that's not an issue with the peeled garlic I've been buying.

[VeraBlue]

Originally Posted by FryBoy

As for the garlic press, the best I've found is from Zylizz, a Swiss company. It's made of a heavy, very strong aluminum alloy, and it ain't likely to break in this lifetime. Also, recently I've been buying peeled garlic from China (where most now comes from). Each bag contains about 30 large cloves, vacuum sealed in little bags of 5 cloves each. Convenient, last a lot longer than fresh whole cloves. No additives -- just garlic.

I'm with you on the food processor. I've had several over the years, and they're rarely used. One exception is my little Cuisinart Mini, which I like for making fresh crumbs and sometimes for blending sauces or dips made with fresh herbs. But the big ones -- unless I'm making a large quantity of soup or something that calls for tons of veggies, forget it! My knives are faster, and the end result is better -- more evenly cut.

I also use peeled garlic. The brand is Christopher's Ranch. It comes in a container with loose cloves, about 3 cups worth. I go through it pretty quickly, too.

[VeraBlue]

Originally Posted by licia

I saw someone many years ago do the crush and smear (my term not theirs) technique with garlic - crush with a chef's knife and smear with a bit of salt. It comes out very fine. I'm still a bit clumsy with it but it certainly works. I do use the garlic press sometimes and it has held up so far.

Indeed, that is a very popular method of mincing garlic, presuming the addition of salt is okay for the recipe.

[goodgiver]

When a person buys garlic that has already been peeled can you still roast it like you would a whole head of garlic?

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by goodgiver

When a person buys garlic that has already been peeled can you still roast it like you would a whole head of garlic?

Yes. Just toss them with some olive oil and spread them out on a cookie sheet and roast until soft.