There is something extremely satisfying about using a garlic press. A knob of peeled garlic goes in the hopper, swing the arm over, and squeeze. Stress relief, plus perfect garlic! Entertaining though a garlic press might be, is it really a necessary tool in your kitchen?
In its favor, a garlic press is very handy for giving you a uniformly "minced" garlic that's much smaller than we could get by hand. For those of us who love garlic flavor in every bite, or if you're a little shy about your knife skills, this is fantastic. A garlic press is also very useful for those times when we need to crush a lot of garlic at once.
On the other hand, it's a kitchen uni-tasker that takes up space in our drawer. The hopper gets clogged with garlic skins and becomes difficult to clean, especially if we forget to do it right away and the skins start to dry.
When we're chopping vegetables for dinner anyway, it feels easier just to mince the garlic along with everything else rather than pull out another tool. And if you're nervous about mincing something so small with a knife, it's just as easy to crush it with a dinner fork as it is to use a garlic press.
On the whole, we're not convinced that this is a necessary tool in our kitchens. But what do you think?
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I've always wanted a garlic press, but have never used one. And i put garlic in nearly everything. Necessity? No, but I think it would make me feel like a fancier cook if I could press little bits of garlic out like that. Might be worth it. Also, I feel like there's got to be *some* other use for it.
I use my garlic press all the time. I find the way the garlic sticks to the knife annoying, and I like being able to just squeeze the garlic into a pan or pot. I know it's a single-use tool, but it's one that I really like.
I've always loved my press, but then I took a cooking class, and the teacher claimed the flavor of the garlic is really affected by smashing it like that...something to do with the chemistry of garlic and air. Hmmm. So now I just use it when I'm feeling lazy or there are tons of other flavors in a dish.
I don't really care to mince garlic with a knife - I enjoy using my press and in one squeeze - it's done. I would definitely trade out another tool before I'd ever give up this one.
I hate my garlic press- in fact this post may be the inspiration I need to throw/give it away. I learned to smash it with the broad side of my chefs knife and chop the rest- so much easier than trying to clean the garlic carnage out of those little holes.
i LOVE my garlic press. pampered chef. use it nearly every day.
I am a fan of the garlic press; however, I am Korean so I do cook with a lot of garlic and ginger. Yes, I use my garlic press to mince ginger as well :)
I have a garlic press, but if I'm already using my microplane, I'll just use it for the garlic, too, instead of getting another tool dirty.
Yep, I fall into the "I love my garlic press" category too. Maybe it does change the flavor of the garlic like alfmetals said, but whatever it does I generally prefer dishes with pressed garlic to dishes with hand-minced garlic, and it saves a lot of time.
Admittedly, I'm not the one who cleans the garlic press. My wife, who is less squeamish about gross things than I am, puts it up to her mouth and blows the garlic skin bits back out through the holes- a little questionable, but quick and effective.
I have also heard that it changes the flavor. Not sure if that's true or not, but I use it anyway for the convenience. If I'm chopping a lot of garlic for a dish that will cook for a while, I'll use my knife.
Love our garlic press. I highly recommend the Kuhn Rikon Epicurean. I do the same as @foodefafa though, if I've already got the microplane out, I'll use that.
I detest the garlic press! Hard to clean, and makes a garlic pulp that burns fast (and tastes bitter) and tastes...off? I can pulp garlic in a similar manner with just a knife (or mortar & pestle) if I need that kind of texture/distribution (like making tzaziki or something) - and then all I have to clean is what I would have had to start with. I'm becoming very "chef's knife only! ONLY!" the more I cook!
I've only recently started chopping garlic by hand. I've used a garlic press for almost 20 years. Zyliss is the only way to go! I've tried others. I do find that chopping it by hand takes SOOOO much longer to get it nice and fine, and it's a lot messier--sticks to my fingers, sticks to the knife, but right now I'm thinking of it as catharsis! ;)
I have one and I used to use it but never dig it out anymore. Cleaning it is a pain and really, once you have the garlic peeled you are halfway there.
The press seems to turn garlic into mush rather than "tiny mince." The mush then doesn't really saute, just seems to burn or be tasteless (I ended up using a LOT more garlic when I used a press).
I should give mine away. It's been years since I've used it and I haven't missed it.
If I'm mincing garlic, I'll use my garlic press. But I rarely mince it because I think it burns too easily. Most of the time I'll cut it in half and put it in hot oil (with the skin) to infuse the oil with garlic flavor, fish it out, smash the soft garlic and then add it later, when it won't burn.
BTW, this whole unitasker thing is absurd. If it only does one thing and you never use it, get rid of it. But if it only does one thing that you need to do every day, it's a keeper. Corkscrews are unitaskers, too...
I love garlic in my food, but HATE the smell of it on my fingers, so I use my garlic press a lot. I just throw a clove or two in with the peel on and I get prefect garlic without a lingering odor (that last for days blaaaah)
By the time it would take to find the press, pulverize the garlic then clean the darn thing, I'd have already had my garlic smashed, unpeeled, chopped and sauteed in the pan. I used garlic in just about every dish, but there are times where i mince it finely. Then there's time I slice the garlic. And sometimes I just smash it with side of a knife to add garlic flavor without the tons of garlic bits.
When I use my garlic press, I don't bother peeling the cloves. All the good stuff pushes out and the peel stays in one piece. It's also easier to clean this way, I can usually just pick out 99% of the leftover crud with a butter knife. If I happen to buy already peeled cloves.. microplane is best.
I don't use one. I have a 2 part microplane zester with larger and smaller holes so I use that. It comes out at almost every meal, for garlic, lemon, lime, ginger, nutmeg etc. And yes my hands smell like garlic later, but I'm so used to it now.
It's definitely not necessary, but I just got a garlic press a few months ago and I LOVE it. Partly because I can avoid getting my hands all garlicky smelling and partly because it feels like an olds-school Play Doh toy :) I use mine all the time but obviously you could get by without one.
This is something I could easily see being clutter in 50% of kitchens but I really like mine. Especially with soups and sauces. I'm also not a very experienced chopper, but I love garlic.
Re Flavor Changes - yes, the flavor of garlic changes the smaller you cut it. The more you break down the cell walls (i.e. the smaller you chop it) the more garlicky flavor you will get. If you cook garlic slices in oil, it will taste milder than minced garlic cooked the same way. I personally love garlicky flavor.
I was against the garlic press for a long time but someone bought me a Zyliss. I love it. I like times when I don't need to chop anything but garlic so why dirty the cutting board? I also like being able to squeeze garlic directly in the pot in a pinch, or when I need to use an insane amount of garlic for a recipe.
I love my garlic press. I have a small kitchen, so I try to minimize unitaskers. However, I use this one all the time, so it merits space in my drawer.
I have a Kuhn Rikon one that I highly recommend - the little basket flips out and is super easy to clean. I love how smashed garlic adds even garlic flavor to every bite of a dish, and smashing the garlic definitely makes it more garlic-y. Sometimes I will chop it myself if I want a milder flavor or bigger chunks.
I also find the smell of garlic on my hands annoying, and since I use garlic almost every day, I would smell like garlic for the foreseeable future without my garlic press. It's worth it just for that.
I recently read a tip in the Splendid Table's cookbook "How To Eat Supper" to use a rock. She found a rock that she dedicated to crushing garlic, so as to avoid having to scrape off the sticking skins from the side of your knife or the insides of a press. We've recently adopted this technique and it works wonderfully! Just wash the rock afterwards or even throw it in the dishwasher! I must say that it's very satisfying to crush something with a rock too. :)
I haven't used one since I left my mother's house.
There's no need. It'll just clutter your kitchen and get tossed out with the next kitchen cure for not being used.
Microplane! Although I usually just chop it, so it doesn't burn.
I hate the garlic press! It seems to waste to much precious garlic. Either dice by hand or when I want a really small garlic paste I use my micro plainer. Works great!
I cooked for more than 35 years without one, but then a friend invited me over for homemade pizza topped with loads of garlicky greens. Her use of a garlic press was a revelation! I had heard that the press affects the flavor - and to that I now say BAH! I peel and trim each clove before I press it and nothings gets wasted. Mine is an OXO Good Grips press: easy to use, easy to clean.
on a recent trip to canada, i went to a pampered chef party and found a garlic press to replace all garlic presses. the fiddly task of getting all the garlic fibres out of the press was eliminated by its special tool which pops all the unused garlic out and they say you don't even need to peel the garlic. i have bought it home to oz and found it fantastic. http://www.pamperedchef.ca/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=26651&words=garlic
Mine has been sitting untouched for 4 1/2 years in the tool drawer. Now that I think about it, I can't believe its made it through all our moves (4!!) in that same time span. Think it's going in the donate box in the AM.
Easier and faster to use the knife I already have out and the press just seems to waste so much of the garlic.
we always used to use garlic presses, but i could definitely live without it. my knife works just fine. hmm, not a necessity, but it's really doesn't take up that much room!
Garlic presses? Totally useless and hard to clean. Knife skills are easy and fun to master!
Not long after getting married and learning to cook on a regular basis, I realized I was making a lot of dishes that called for minced garlic. And since my knife skills weren't great, it always took me forever.
So I put a garlic press on my wish list, and in year two of marriage I finally got one. Total waste. Didn't work that great (flattened it, rather than pressed it through the holes) and was a pain to clean. And by that point my knife skills had improved, so it didn't take me that long to mince garlic anymore.
So, my vote? Pointless tool!
33 comments on this topic. Wow! (Now, #34)...
I have arthritis in my hands. I can't use a garlic press nowadays. But when I could I had one and found it difficult to clean. It's easier to clean a knife. I like the idea above of getting a "garlic rock," though, will have to look for a suitable candidate.
I don't use a garlic press and don't stress too much about my knife skills. When I need a clove, I peel off the paper and lay it on the cutting board. I place the flat of my chef's knife on top, give it a quick whack with my hand, then roughly chop the resulting smashed garlic. Works for me.
YES YES YES. I *love* my garlic press. Mine, however is a step up from a simple press...
I used to use the Pampered chef one- however I do extensive cooking with a ridiculous amount of garlic...
I found something randomly while grocery shopping which I now cannot live without, and have since bought for all my friends.
I usually don't buy into all those silly kitchen products, but this one has seriously made my cooking SO much easier. http://www.starfrit.net/garlic-genius-garlic-press---garlik-magik.html ( The Garlic Genius)
Sounds cheesy, but I love it... you dont even have to peel the garlic- pop it in , give it a spin, pull out the stopped and voila the garlic is perfect. More shredded finely than minced.. and this is WAY easier to clean than my garlic press.
I have on I use, and one still in the package incase it ever breaks and I cant find another...seriously, I adore this darn thing .
I love my garlic press... it's self-cleaning, press on one side, flip it over and it cleans all those little holes. If it only did windows! <g>
Never! I find it very relaxing to chop garlic. Besides, who needs another kitchen tool?
Williams Sonoma has a little gadget called the Garlic Zoom that I have heard works pretty well...has anyone used it?
i like having one, especially if I'm not in the mood to have smelly garlic hands... our trick for cleaning it is to use a toothbrush! works like a charm....
The thing I hate most about cooking is mincing. It takes forever and my hands smell like garlic for days.
Finally bought a garlic press from my grocery store (President's Choice brand) and it's AWESOME. It has a silicone pad on the back of the press with little spikes, so when you're done using it, you flip the arm backwards and the spikes push the garlic skin out. A quick rinse and it's clean.
LOVE LOVE it.
funny, I just did a post on my love/hate relationship with garlic, and in the process became re-acquainted with my garlic press. I do enjoy using, and find it easier to clean than some of the other gadgets I have bought to deal with garlic!
http://girlfriendlifeline.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-lovehate-relationship-with-garlic.html
I've had my garlic press for years. If I have the microplane out I use that instead, the press is great when it's the only tool in use.
I'm all about decluttering, but a garlic press is so small! It's useful, does its job well, and takes up little space. Plus, if you really find it impossible to clean, they come with those little doohickeys that have spikes on them for pushing the garlic pulp out while you're washing. Yes, that's another thing to keep in the drawer, but it's tiny!
hate it. mine just smushes the garlic similar to what would happen if i slammed it with the back of a knife. i prefer a microplane.
i love using mine, 5$ at ikea! however, i would suggest buying one that has no removable pieces or holders as it's more of a pain to clean.
I feel much more accomplished when I chop garlic by hand, plus one less tool to wash when I'm done! It does make my hands smell a bit, but I'm probably chopping onion at the same time, so they'll smell no matter what. So I guess I'm against it!
Garlic Zoom is a great tool. It minces the garlic with no mess and can go in the dishwasher. Got one of those. Got a press too and a Microplane. Use either of those once in a while, but usually I chop or slice or mash garlic with a knife. Taste is much better that way (less powerful) compared to pressed. It does change the taste. Reading this I may get rid of my press. Taking up too much space for being used little and only for 1 task.
so which model do you recommend?
When making anything that is going to cook for a while, by all means chop the garlic with a knife. If you are cooking Italian for instance, a garlic press is a must. They release much more oil from the bulb and give a better flavour. I had a press for years that was great. One day the hinge broke and in the bin it went. It took about half a dozen different presses before I found another really good one. I think that a good garlic press is indispensible and what is being discussed here is between those that have bought a good one and those that have not.
Love my garlic press. I got it at Ikea, I think. It cleans superbly easily because the part with the holes swivels out of the bottom. Only flat surfaces to clean!
Not for me, thanks.
Garlic presses are such a waste of resources. To get the same result simply hold your knife upside-down and go to thinly slice the clove. Each stroke of the knife will crush 2-3mm* of the clove. Simples.
* If you are in the US, this method also works with inches.
This is the one gadget I insisted in Ikea, NO, Let's not get this! Ugh, okay. And now I use it constantly. And I loathe 'clever' gadgets
I use mine a lot and I never really considered not having one - it was just always there. It's easy enough to clean if you don't leave it to dry.
I may try not using it for a while and see if it's something I could get by without.
I have a garlic card, which is good for when I want a lot of the jucies and less chunks. Other times I just press the clove flat and chop it. My card looks more like a credit card, but looks like they've given them an upgrade since I got that: http://www.garliccard.com/
They are not completely a uni-tasker, I use mine to crush Jalapenos and garlic when making salsa. It sort of juices the jalapeno then I don't have any chucks.
I don't have a good knife for mincing so I do like having my garlic press. I have noticed though only to use it if I'm cooking the dish right away. I find crushed garlic in a marinade for example turns green and gross.
I definitely fall in the LOVE category - but only if it is a good one. Using a badly designed garlic press is one of the most frustrating thing to use in the kitchen - wasted garlic, impossible to clean, etc. Zyliss presses are incredible. Nothing but the skin left inside and it all comes out as soon as it's inverted under running water. They even included a little piece that fits inside to push the skin out if you leave it to dry with the garlic inside. It was one of the first thing I bought when I moved to the UK from California!
YES! But only the one featured in this post (and no, I don't work for Rosle). It just plain works - strong and easy to clean. The one to have.