What is the point of a garlic press?

[Dumpandstir]

I can go both ways. I personally use a knife but when the kids are cooking I let them use the press. I am gradually teaching knife skills but kids attention spans are short and I work the knife in on other important tasks.

[suzyQ3]

Originally Posted by cmarchibald

Well I wouldn't have that complaint because I'm always using at least 5-6 cloves.

If I only had to chop up 1 or 2 it would honestly be easier to use a knife than to get this gadget out. But for the amount of garlic we use it's a real timesaver.

I understand because we love garlic too. But for many dishes, that would just be too much. So I can stick one clove of garlic in a press and be done with it -- no peeling and, more important, no chopping. For some reason, I detest chopping one or two cloves of garlic.

[AnnieDrews]

Originally Posted by AnnieDrews

I bought one of these:

Amazon.com: Garlic Grater Set (garlic grater, silicone peeler, brush) - Ceramic, Green: Kitchen & Dining

...at the home and garden show last weekend. Haven't used it yet but am anxious to do so. The demonstrator sure made it look great! It came with the brush and the silicone sleeve to peel it with.

I tried this tonight and it worked great! As with a grater, you REALLY have to be careful of scraping your fingers. Otherwise, I'm pleased.

[bakechef]

Originally Posted by tropical cooker

I have the original zyliss garlic press. It works perfectly and is pretty easy to clean. I use it all of the time. I never need to peel the cloves of garlic. Just pop them in the press.

They have improved on the original.

Amazon.com: Zyliss 12040 Jumbo Garlic Press with Cleaner: Kitchen & Dining

I too hated and gave up on garlic presses until I tried this one.

No peeling, and it just works perfectly! I don't use the included cleaner tool, I just use my dish brush if there is something stuck in the holes.

I think the hate towards garlic presses comes from so many bad ones on the market. I don't know why this one works better than the rest but it just does. I can't peel and chop garlic faster than using this thing.

I am not big on unitaskers, but I use fresh garlic often, so I don't mind having a unitasker in this case.

[sparrowgrass]

I think you can use a garlic press for small pieces of ginger, too. Then it would be a duo-tasker. :)

[luvs]

i'll continue 2 use a knife! that is plenty effective- that's multi-tasking.

[web-collage]

Gosh you guys. I love my garlic press. It's heavy aluminum and I pop in a peeled clove of garlic, press it through and scrape it off with a knife, then use the point of a sharp knife to pull out what's left. I use it so much that I have two so there is always one clean. Maybe should get one in stainless steel just to be cleaner.

So all you who have heavy metal garlic presses, send them to me. I'll use them. Yes I often use a knife to slice or mash, but the garlic press is so easy.

[Walt Bulander]

I have a Zyliss aluminum press. Fast and effective. Don't peel the garlic. Press, slice off the extruded garlic, retract the handle, and the excess usually comes out in one piece. Try it!!!

[mkaylady]

My garlic press sits in the drawer. I use the flat of the Chef's Knife to crush the clove. Once you do that the skin peels right off and the clove is broken open. Then I just cut it in half or quarters and brown it or whatever. Garlic does not need to be grated into food.

[taxlady]

Originally Posted by mkaylady

My garlic press sits in the drawer. I use the flat of the Chef's Knife to crush the clove. Once you do that the skin peels right off and the clove is broken open. Then I just cut it in half or quarters and brown it or whatever. Garlic does not need to be grated into food.

I crush my garlic unpeeled too. One of the advantanges of crushing it with the chef's knife, instead of unpeeled with a garlic press is that you can see any brown or otherwise icky bits and cut them off before they go in the food.

For vinaigrettes I squish, peel, (cut off any icky bits), chop, squish by pushing down while dragging the side of the knife across the garlic, and then mince. I like it to be a paste for vinaigrette. I seems to help the emulsion.