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I'm with you. That's my preferred method of peeling garlic.

If you've run into chef's that don't know how to peel garlic I don't think they are actually a chef.

Hopefully I'll be sweeping my garlic skins into this composter:
http://naturemill.com/

Last night I quickly peeled an entire head of garlic for some cream of artichoke soup exactly how you described. I clicked 'read more' on your post because I was curious to see if I peel garlic the 'right' way. So nice to know I do! And yes, there's nothing that beats garlic fresh from the farm! : )

Woot, I do it this way, too. If I smash hard and barbarically, enough, I don't even have to do much mincing afterward. That works best with fresh garlic, which is what everyone is hopefully using, anyway (if there's a sprout, I throw it out ... or plant it!) I do have this minor fear sometimes of coming down at a bad angle or having some freak accident where I cut myself, though. Those times, I do like Giada and use my fist (the fleshy, karate-chop side) to come down on the knife flat.

I use a spice jar to do the whacking. I find that if I use the knife method, a lot of force is dissipated along the length of the blade.

I use this method also. Occasionally, with less succulent store-bought garlic, I'll slice off the harder nub and then smash.

Also, I saw Jacques Pepin recommend an extra hard smash as a shortcut to mincing as one commenter mentioned above - it's a great shortcut!

If you have to peel a lot of garlic really quickly, throw the cloves into a steel bowl. Top with another steel bowl. Shake vigorously. It will make a pile of noise, but then all you have to do is pick out the peeled garlic from amongst the skins lying in the bowl.

really? i've always freed an individual clove from the bulb, and with my bare hands (roar!) i would snap off the pointy end of the clove and the skin would come loose. If needed, i would trim off the hard end. I think its basically the same effect/effort required as using a knife, but without the need for a utensil (unless you're trimming).

i am glad to know i do it right, i also scrolled over in case there was an easier way. I know alot of people buy the no skin garlic in a jar but i am leary wondering how old it is and what preserves the freshness.

http://organicandnaturalmom.blogspot.com/

Nice post. That is the way I do it now too. So much fast than cutting off the ends and trying to peel it by hand - how I did it when I first started.

The New Cook

i peel and smash garlic this way too, but i always wonder if it has an adverse effect on my knife.. i usually use a fist instead of the heel of my hand.

I do love the satisfying crunch when you split a clove open. I also checked to see if there was a better method than the hard thwack, but I guess there isn't. Thanks for the details and photos!

This is great - I always think that fresh garlic tastes so much better too, although I never really thought about it being more sustainable. Another reason to use the fresh stuff!

I've found for my own personal clutziness--in that I would be the freak accident that stabs myself with a knife pointing away from me-- that I do much better whacking the garlic with the bottom of a can, and I can do a few cloves at once with this method.

I like letting the weight of the can do the work, rather than my hand, I don't smash the cloves, just push down on them once and voila! peeled garlic. Yum!

I actually bought one of those garlic peelers a long time ago ... you know the ones that look like a cannoli shell made out of silicone? I stick the clove in there, press down on the thing on the counter and roll it back and forth once or twice ... and pop! It's done. And I'm not peeling remnants of skin off, such as when I try to do it with my hands.

This works for most situations, but sometimes (especially with fresh farmers' market garlic), the skin won't come off of the base of the clove (or leaves a hard scab on the bottom); or, sometimes, you want pretty slices (like aglio i olio), so you have to do it the hard way

in my fancy french cooking class, i was taught to press on the blade of my chef's knife until i heard the garlic skin crack, and it's worked well, but your photos make me think i'll try the rap method next time.

my boyfriend makes a delightful variation of 40-clove chicken that we call "the stew" where the cloves are dumped in with the last layer of skin intact, allowing us to squeeze them onto bread that we then dunk in the gravy. but i'm often tempted to ask him to peel them, anyway.