Some folks will tell you that the best way to mince garlic is with a garlic press!
A garlic press is certainly handy, but if you don't have one or just feeling like doing it the old-fashioned way, here's one method that works well!
Knife Skills: How to Mince Garlic
After peeling your garlic clove, lay it on the cutting board on one of its flat sides so it's stable and doesn't roll. Trim off the tough roots from where the garlic clove was attached to the head.
Cut the garlic in thin strips along its length -- from root to tip.
Carefully turn the garlic 90-degrees and cut strips in the other direction. You'll be left with a little pile of thin sticks.
Sprinkle the pile with a pinch of salt. This is a little chef's trick that helps keep the garlic from sticking to your knife!
Run your knife back and forth over the pile of garlic until it's as finely minced as you like it.
It's easiest to do this if you hold your knife in front of you parallel to your body. As demonstrated in our How to Dice An Onion video, set the tip of the knife on the cutting board just to the left of the pile of garlic (to the right if you're a leftie!).
Leaving the tip of the knife against the cutting board, use the heel of the knife to chop the garlic. Use a rocking motion and move the heel of the knife a bit when you lift up so you cut into the pile at a different place each time.
If you think cutting the garlic into sticks fussy, you can certainly start with a whole clove and just keep chopping until it's as finely minced as you like it!
Related: Recipe: Garlic Salsa Verde
(All images by Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
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Tips & Techniques, garlic, how to, knife skills, mince garlicRelated Links
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Interesting. Normally I use the smash and chop method, but I will try adding salt.
view Melissa A.'s profile
Thank you for this, though I think I'll still use the press. The press leaves my hands less stinky. I'm so glad they use the press on America's Test Kitchens, as it totally validates me. Ha.
view Mace Elaine's profile
If I'm chopping other things anyway, I use my knife for garlic. If I'm just using garlic, I whip out my garlic press without shame.
view Joan A.'s profile
Yes, learn how to mince, people, because a garlic press is SO evil. Everytime you use one, Julia Child rolls over in her grave and angels cry. Or, something like that.
view sonotcool's profile
Wow, thanks! The salt trick is especially cool to know!
view STLcolleen's profile
@ sonotcool, they told us in culinary school that a kitten dies every time you use a garlic press :)
tip for mincing garlic: a paring knife works best for the initial cuts and then switch to a chef's knife for the actual mincing.
view saltyc's profile
i use an ulu. best tool ever!!!!!!!!!!!!
view erinorea's profile
An interesting side note:
The healthy aromatic compound in garlic, allicin, is activated by chopping and crushing the garlic. Letting the garlic stand for 10 minutes prior to cooking prevents the loss of its anti-inflammatory compounds.
view JohnLaPuma's profile
Erinorea -- I completely agree! I love my ulu so very much. Other than my chef's knife, I think it's the cutting instrument that I turn to most often.
view laetitiae's profile
Tip from a Spanish chef: remove the little green bud from the center of the clove so it's easier on the stomach... and you won't be feeling the garlic 6 hours after eating it.
view xieta's profile
Julia Child used a garlic press cheerfully in at least one episode.
view Joan A.'s profile
wait, did I miss something? What's so bad about using a garlic press?
view Clementine's profile
a tip for those smelly fingers: if you have a stainless kitchen faucet, rub your hands and finger tips on it while washing them.
view vinegar's profile
i know i shouldnt admit itbut the best decision i ever made was to switch to buying the jars of crushed and minced garlic. its suuuch a timesaver and doesnt make your hands smell...
view lemonyc's profile
Wash your hands in cold water if you don't want them to smell. Using hot or warm means your pores open up and capture the garlic oil.
I either chop with a knife or if I want a paste I'll use a microplane.
view angorian's profile
Garlic chopping used to be a real problem for me...until I married a man with a serious garlic allergy. Sure, our food is bland, but cooking is fast and I never have to worry about stinky fingers from mincing.
view moema's profile
I bought an OXO mini chopper specifically for the purpose of mincing garlic. Best invention ever! Cleaning it is a bit of a pain but well worth it.
http://tinyurl.com/5jvw3a
For getting rid of smelly odors on your hands try a rub away bar. I have no idea if they work or not but sounds promising.
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http://tinyurl.com/5wzp4g
view bemyescape's profile
A garlic press is the worst! More than half of the garlic clove gets stuck in the press.
view bemyescape's profile
bemyescape, all garlic presses are not created equally. I highly recommend Zyliss. They're available everywhere.
view quiltmaster's profile