Garlic Press

[mike in brooklyn]

My son gave me a gift of an Oxo Garlic Press.

I had never used one before - I would smash the cloves with the
blade of my Chinese knife and take the peel off manually and then mince
and puree the garlic using my knife.

I used the press today (making Navy Bean soup) and thought
there was an awful lot of waste - I used an entire head of garlic
and think I would get almost 50% more garlic if I used my
traditional method.

Anyone else find this true/false?

 

[TheNoodleIncident]

yeah, i dont like garlic presses....ive also noticed that they leave a "skin" in the press that clogs it and is very difficult to clean

i prefer my knives

 

[GrillingFool]

Add me to the list. I just hate throwing away all that goodness!
Besides, chopping is much more fun!

 

[jennyema]

I also threw my garlic press away.

Using a knife is easier and, like you say, wastes less

 

[kadesma]

Mine went the way of the garbage truck..I prefer using a chef knife either chopping or after a rough chop add a little olive oil to the garlic then some salt and scrap the blade over the garlic it turns almost into a paste. A little work but well worth it.
kadesma

 

[ChefJune]

I'm with you. When students ask me which garlic press I prefer, I always refer them to the side of my chef's knife.

 

[mike in brooklyn]

With all of this consensus I think I will return to
my old method using my knife - first I will experiment with
peeling the cloves before putting them in the press just to
see if there is still such a lot of waste.

 

[Nils Hoyum]

The garlic press is a failed attempt at creating a new tool for a job that already had a perfectly good tool; the knife.
Throw the garlic press away, and tell everyone you know not to get one.

 

[MostlyWater]

I don't have one either; I buy the already peeled garlilc and smash it in our chopper for use. I wonder if it would be good for someone with arthritis, though.

 

[les]

My son gave me a gift of an Oxo Garlic Press.

I had never used one before - I would smash the cloves with the
blade of my Chinese knife and take the peel off manually and then mince
and puree the garlic using my knife.

I used the press today (making Navy Bean soup) and thought
there was an awful lot of waste - I used an entire head of garlic
and think I would get almost 50% more garlic if I used my
traditional method.

Anyone else find this true/false?

Too much waste in a garlic press, I use your old method...much more effecient :0)

 

[jennifer75]

yeah, i dont like garlic presses....ive also noticed that they leave a "skin" in the press that clogs it and is very difficult to clean

i prefer my knives

Yea, I have one and used to love it. Then I started paying more attention to Giada and Rachel and started mashing and cutting my cloves. Then I caught Rachel shaving hers over a grater....any of you do that?

 

[Katie H]

Have a garlic press but it's rarely used. I'm in the knife group, but I also love to use my microplane grater, too.

 

[kadesma]

Have a garlic press but it's rarely used. I'm in the knife group, but I also love to use my microplane grater, too.

Me too, it really works great for putting the garlic into a dip or someplace you don't really care to see it.
kades

 

[bullseye]

Have a garlic press but it's rarely used. I'm in the knife group, but I also love to use my microplane grater, too.

I go with the knife, too, but the microplane intrigues me. How do you spare your fingers?

 

[Katie H]

I go with the knife, too, but the microplane intrigues me. How do you spare your fingers?

Never had a problem adding extra protein (fingers) when I use my microplane. Just try to be careful. I use my microplane for so many things I wonder if I'm going to wear it out.

 

[fireweaver]

once upon a time, i was at mom's house cooking dinner for her, and needed to smash up some garlic. she handed me her garlic press (i'd never used one), and even after peeling the papery bits off the cloves, a good half of the pulp was left in there after squeezing. promptly went back to smashing with a knife from the 2nd clove on.

and now for the eyerolls from all: at my house, i'm far too lazy for any of that mess, so i buy industrial-size jars of diced garlic preserved in water.

 

[Scotch]

A garlic press is like any other tool -- it has its uses, but it's not for every job.

I find that the press is faster if I'm using a lot of garlic and want it chopped rather fine -- chopping 5 or 10 cloves can take a bit of time if you want tiny pieces, and sometimes there's not much room on the cutting board as I have onion and whatever piled up.

As for the skins, I either use the end of a measuring spook or my finger to remove them from the press when necessary. If I'm using a lot of garlic, I combine the methods and smash the cloves with my chef's knife and then press the peeled cloves.

I really don't care about the waste of 2¢ worth of garlic. However, I just push the overflow back into the press with the next clove and end up getting 95% of it into the pot.

 

[n2cookin]

I use the press when I want more of the garlic juice. I tried the method for making paste on a cutting board with the side of a knife but a lot of juice ends up left on the cutting board. My press is an easy clean one where the handles swing open and the one handle has rubber tips that go into the holes of the other handle and push the skins and stuff back out of the holes the opposite direction from when pressed. It makes it really easy to clean. The rest of the time I rely on my knife and chop it to desired size.

 

[Scotch]

Not all garlic presses are created equal, and I can certainly understand why someone who has used only a poorly designed press would find them to be nearly useless.

I have this one from Zyliss, a Swiss cookware company, which I believe was top rated in either Cook's or Consumer Reports or the L.A. Times a few years back:

It works very well and can handle large garlic cloves, although it does require a large hand and a strong grip to crush a really big clove.

 

[Michael in FtW]

I have to agree with Scotch on this - the Zyliss is the only one I haven't thrown out, and actually works fairly well. But, I've used the side of my knife and used the smash and mince method for so many years I keep forgetting about the Zyliss.