It depends what i'm doing with the garlic. I use a knife and press. I have the Zyliss which is the best by far and very easy to clean. No need to peel and press the ..... out of it getting the juice and all. You know I've never noticed a taste difference. Now that people are mentioning this, i'll have to play attention to that. But then again I think it hasn't given me that much of a difference to notice. I haven't taken a count of yays and nays but it seems pretty even. So do what you like and what makes you feel good. The knife or press is both useful for what you are trying to create.
Nay. I paid for that chef's knife, may as well use it. And, I already have to clean it - why clean another gadget? (I also extract great pleasure from crushing and mincing garlic, channeling Jacques Pepin every time!)
I vote for microplaning into a paste (I have one with the finest hole, used for nutmeg) right over the dish. A small rubber spatula allow me to scrap bits, juice and all, right into the dish. Way easier to clean up than a garlic press. My latest un-cheflike guilty cheat with garlic is to buy it pre peeled. I love garlic and I am inclined to use more if I buy it already peeled. Wouldn't have considered this before having to cook for a family, but now, I need a few shortcuts.
Have never owned a garlic press. I have always found my wide chef knife just the right tool. Smash the clove, chop and or press into a paste as needed. And easy cleanup.
Of course Bourdain is anti-GP. What would anyone expect? He's a professional Chef with knife skills that would make us seem like amateurs - which we are. I suspect most of us here, like me, are evolving in their approaches to these things. I only used GP's for years, but because of the MANY food blogs and articles I have tried to stray away from this and venture into G crushing, mincing (and soon grating). But I do think the GP is useful and handy for things like fresh garlic on buttered toasted bread. The juice is essential. I seem to use the GP only occasionally now, but I think people should stay away from "camps" when it comes to cooking. We are not pros and have room to get better.
I read Bourdain is anti truffle oil. Well, sure. My lowly sample of truffle olive oil I was happy to find is deemed "shitty" from on high. OK. So where am I supposed to get fresh truffle? I live alone and am hardly able to manage dealing with a stalk of aging celery, let alone astromically-priced fresh truffle!! Disparaging garlic-presses while praising fresh truffle and In-N-Out Burger - I'll listen and hopefully learn, but take all of it with a big grain of salt (and he better not come out with a Bourdain-brand garlic press in a few years!!!)
waste of time and metal - smash and chop or use a rasp - why would I want to waste garlic and wash another kitchen tool, not to mention all those little holes
Against. It's not that I'm rabidly anti, it's just that the press is stuck in the back of the drawer (no doubt stuck in the silicone garlic peeler tube) and it's quicker to use a knife. And this year, for the first time, we've grown our own garlic (1st bulb shown here, reclining on a countertop), so I want to savor directly every slice/mince/crush.
Anti! I find you lose so much garlic in the presser AND they're a pain to clean. I always prefer chopping – you have a lot more control over the texture of the garlic before cooking with it.
Anti! I find you lose so much garlic in the presser AND they're a pain to clean. I always prefer chopping – you have a lot more control over the texture of the garlic before cooking with it.
I broke 2 garlic presses going through a few pounds to freeze in tablespoon portions. Then I had an epiphany and put it in the food processor, worked out so much better.
Not something I use a lot, but there are times... A good strong press that will do a good job on unpeeled garlic is the best answer for those nice, fat cloves that turn out to be a bunch of tiny cloves- things TV chefs never seem to encounter. A pox on Anthony Bourdain.
Depends on how easy it is to find the press. Plus smashing with a chef's knife is especially satisfying when you've gone a bit crazy looking for the garlic press.
I think anyone who thinks a garlic press is slow has never had a good garlic press. I have a Rosle one and use it whenever I need minced garlic. It cleans up quickly if I don't let it dry on there.
For those who love garlic -- and love articles on the "why" of using certain techniques in cooking -- I recommend the following article from Serious Eats: http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/01/how-to-mince-chop-garlic-microplane-vs-garlic-press.html.
For flavor and ease of cleaning, I was long-time strictly a knife user on the garlic question. I found the press gave less or bitter flavor and were a pain to clean. For a stew or dish where it could sit and flavor the whole thing, I would smash it with side of a chef's knife, remove the paper skin and add to the dish. Otherwise I would make a paste, using the same knife & some salt. Now that we have micro planes, I sometimes use one to add a little bit of garlic to a dish...it's easy, and doesn't create the same (unsavory) taste that the press used to give.
Good Heavens! Strong opinions - I favor doing what you like. But supposedly the finer the garlic mash/mince, the more cells open up to release the scent/taste. Theoretically, the mashing of the press will result in stronger flavor.
I agree with nay on the garlic press a little salt works wonders and for garlic bread toast with olive oil run a grate a peel garlic clove over the toasted bread while hot best garlic bread ever
As someone who doesn't own a garlic press, I'd say use a knife, smash, mince. It's pretty easy and only takes a few seconds. The only time it's a pain is when mincing garlic the only thing you're using the knife and board for and you have 2 pieces of equipment to wash!
I like my garlic minced or sliced,but if you must press it use a mortar.It works for me...so I'm a nay?I don't know!Thinking of Bourdain confuses me a bit...Is it hot in here?
Nay! You want all that garlic and juice! Best to chop it or I also do what Rachael ray does with the little hand held grater! I feel it tastes fresher!
I think the fact that this thread has so many different opinions, techniques and options just points up a fact:
If it works for you, use it.
There's no 'right way' for some things. I used to use a garlic press..and some times I'll still use it..sometimes I won't. Sometimes I'll pound it with salt in mortar and pistil..sometimes I won't.
I often use the xyliss press because my husband hates bits of garlic in foods. With a press I can sneak it in. I am careful to squeeze it over the pan so I get the juices in. I prefer it minced myself.
I agree the finer you chop garlic the stronger the flavor i find if you crush it with the knife add a pinch of salt and chop the salt acts like an abrasive
I'm gonna go with a big nay because you will lose all the essential oils with the press. A simple crush with a knife should do the trick and the garlic will retain all it's delicious flavor.
Pierino--I know, right? I posted this question when FoodPickle (now hotline) first started, just to test it out, and never expected to get so many passionate responses about garlic presses (including 4, from you).
While this is perhaps the most boring question ever posted to food52, let me just say that unless you make a whole goddam lot of garlic bread a garlic press is a waste of space in your drawer. For most other uses you don't want or need garlic mush.
Mr. Bourdain can kiss my fanny on this one- I like having an option where my hands can truly stay garlic free, without fear of the knife, and without the smell that seeps in under the nails. S
A friend just gave me a ridged rolling pin-like crusher from Berlin, and being a knife crusher and mincer, I have no clue how to use this lovely-looking gadget. Ideas?
Why all this energy directed towards garlic (I love garlic!)? I bet people are lots more worried about surviving Thanksgiving, with or without a garlic press.
Mostly, by the way, I squash and chop the garlic with a knife. When I'm in the mood for something a little different, I use the garlic press- but first I have to find it (no easy task), and after I've used it I've got to clean it- tougher than wiping off a knife.
So I vote for the knife.
Bottom line, though- smash that garlic any way you like; then enjoy it!
I can understand the desire to own a garlic press. I usually add 4 cloves of garlic (minimum) to many of my dishes, and we used to have an amazing garlic press that could easily press 5 cloves at a time, and very little pulp stuck in the press itself. Sadly, the press eventually broke, and apparently they don't make that kind anymore. Now, I just smash and mince the cloves the old fashioned way, and it's no big deal. Honestly, I'm ambivalent. I mean, I get the sense that if you say, "Oh my gosh, never own a garlic press!" then you sound more chefly. And if you say, "Heck yes, use that press!" you sound a little gauche. But honestly, I don't think it makes a huge difference. More than anything, it's the space that yet another one-hit wonder takes up in your drawer.
If you like using a garlic press than that is what works for you. But don't get offended if we have been asked our opinion and it differs from your own. Just keep going your own way. There is no right or wrong. Just enjoy what what is that you do. Happy Hollidays!
I have an old one hanging around somewhere in my drawer of kitchen implements of mysterious origin, but it never really occurs to me to use it. Easy enough to do the smash (peels falls away) and quick chop.
Having said that, my feeling is use one if you like, don't if you don't, whatever works for you - if you're gracious enough to cook for me, I'll be happy to eat it either way. (Not a big fan of the culinary police.)
The current state of my kitchen is such that if I bring something in, I have to get rid of something else, so the something had better do more than one job.
When you come home after a ten hour day to a hungry teen who need dinner before a violin lesson in 20 minutes, I am without judgment on the garlic press issue. Press when you need to , chop when you can. Anthony Bourdain doesn't live at my house!
When you come home after a ten hour day to a hungry teen who need dinner before a violin lesson in 20 minutes, I am without judgment on the garlic press issue. Press when you need to , chop when you can. Anthony Bourdain doesn't live at my house!
When you come home after a ten hour day to a hungry teen who need dinner before a violin lesson in 20 minutes, I am without judgment on the garlic press issue. Press when you need to , chop when you can. Anthony Bourdain doesn't live at my house!
JenniferF, after I posted and I was rushing to finish cooking, I remembered my teenager and was going to say something just to this effect. You said it so well!
well what ever makes you happy. if you feel angry just give it a smash ... boem! if you are relaxed and like to wash you garlic press its also oke. i hate cleaning the garlic press so angry or not.... i give it a
Depends on the application. I'm usually in the knife smashing camp but if you need the garlic taste without chunks, a press is the way to go. For example- a quick vinaigrette with just oil and vinegar.
I agree with AntoniaJames - too much gets left in the press. Also, I think the delicate oil gets separated from the garlic, the flavor changes, and the garlic tends to scorch even more quickly. I used to hammer a couple of cloves at a time under, a bench scraper, then came across Lynne Rosetto Kasper's suggestion (The Splendid Table: How to Eat Supper) to find a good, flat rock. Great conversation piece, too!
I love garlic and I usually just used my chef's knife for chopping and mincing (I have a tiny kitchen and don't have much storage for a bunch of gadgets).I've used my hand grater a few times, too. I'm loving the meat pounder and ginger grater and microplaner ideas. : ) Anything but a garlic press!
I don't understand why. I want to take the sprout out, so I still have to cut the clove in half, My chef;s knife works just fine to flatten out the pieces and chop the garlic. The garlic press was always a pain to clean. And I think the garlic from it is bitter. Probably at least partly because the sprout is usually still in there.
I have to say that I never used fresh garlic until I was given a press. Now I use it daily. A simple rinse is all I usually do to clean it and if the dish doesn't require any other chopping, I don't have a large knife for smashing and a cutting board to wash. As busy as life is and as much as we like to eat good, simple food (with garlic!), I'll keep my press.
Nay. Coming from a very classical background I look at most kitchen gadgets with a juandiced eye. I was taught how to do all things with out a kitchen gadget and despise how the American culture has come to the virtues of quick and easy. And I don't the outcome either. Spend a few minutes using a knife and eventually your knife skills will get better quicker. As for the people that don't like getting thier hand smelly I find this a bit childish.
A knife is already out and esier to clean. And if you're using garlic the recipe probably also has salt. Use some of the salt over the garlic and it chops like a dream! No stickiness to deal with.
I didn't realize the addition of salt would help the stickiness until I read your post. I just thought everyone was suggesting for flavor...which I don't always need. Thanks!
I was Yay on the garlic press for a pretty long time. But now i'm NAY. too much effort. just sliver and sliver again - imho takes less time in the long run!
Nay. I like to be really minimal on my kitchen doo dads...just one more thing to clean, too. Who needs that. In the time it takes to clean the damn holes, I'll have pounded, diced, smashed a few garlic heads already.
Years ago I always used a garlic press. Then for years, I became an anti-garlic press snob. No more. If you use a good press you get much more than the pressed garlic. You get all of the juice also.I don't use it when I want chopped garlic to add to other chopped veggies, but I like the smooth texture of the pressed garlic and how it blends in with certain dishes. I 'm glad that I gave it another try. Sometimes we need to have an open mind and give something another chance. You can surprise yourself and wish that you had tried something sooner.
Also, after you mince, add a little salt and press the broad side of the blade down and with a few strokes you have paste. I can do this in a matter or seconds. You can too.
Nay. What a slow and awkward mess the garlic press is. I prefer the broadside of my knife. Mash the garlic, keep or remove the green stem, chop, chop, chop, mince, mince, mince. This is how one develops knife skills. Less is more. Why complicate your kitchen with unnecessary crap?
I'm a "chop by hand" kind of girl because I hate unitaskers, particularly unitaskers with hinges that inevitably flip the wrong way when I'm trying to open the drawer (garlic presses and citrus squeezers - HATE). But garlic presses aren't evil, and dang, to automatically assume someone's lazy if they own one? Am I lazy because, even though I have great knife skills, I love my food processor and look for reasons to use it? If so, then we're all "lazy" to a degree, evidenced by the number of tools we all use in the kitchen. Nothing wrong with it.
When I use my press the garlic is stronger than chopping. So it depends on the recipe how much garlic flavor I need. Can I prove it scientifically? No. But my nose tells me that pressed garlic is stronger than a light chop.
I was anti-press until I got my hands on this amazing work of art, the Kuhn Rikon Epicurian. http://www.amazon.com/Kuhn-Rikon-Epicurean-Garlic-Press/dp/B0000CD0HX/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286467164&sr=8-1-fkmr0
You don't have to peel the garlic! It flips open to clean easily. Almost all the good stuff comes through..more than any I've ever used. And sometimes, you want a delicate puree, instead of tiny pieces. I find that pressed garlic is best for some sauces, especially. I still mince and cut and slice and smash; now I just have one more variation to add to my repertoire.
Lines of horse noises.... I use the side of the knife, but don't draw the big knife just for a clove of garlic Usually the bottom of the Tabasco bottle (No I don't have granite counters). Several times a week I use garlic in a meat marianade, then I crush it again with a fork in the marinade. Never had a meat pounder, but now I'm on the lookout for one (seems safer than a bottle). What do traditional cooks in garlic-centric cuisines do? Hard to imagine they would use a press.
Wow, tons of responses! I love all these great suggestions...I can't wait to try some the grater and the meat pounder! I'm not anti-garlic press... on a quick week-night dinner, my heavy-duty stainless steel press (that I got for a steal when I worked at a kitchen store in college), works wonders without much clean up or fuss. And it comes in handy for the kitchen-rookie boyfriend. When I'm actually getting down and dirty, I use knife and cutting board and am not afraid to get personal w/my garlic.
And, perhaps ironically, DonnyG, regarding the people who don't want to get their hands smelly, the garlic smell disappears right away when you run your fingers over the stainless steel blade of your knife. JonPalmer, I need to try your method sometime. And Ophelia, it had never occurred to me to use my wonderful little ginger grater for garlic. I have one that's porcelain and a bit larger than most. I can grate a tablespoon of fresh ginger in about thirty seconds flat. I'm going to try it next time I'm doing garlic and ginger for the same dish (which, around here, is fairly often). Thanks, everyone, for all the great tips. Foodpickle is the best, isn't it?!!! ;o)
Nay, a garlic press is for someone who doesn't want to get thier hands dirty or smelly. Someone who has to cook but doesnt want to cook usually. Or that wants alot of gadgets to bragg about. Or the lazy cook who wants everthing to be easy. Or the person that just doesn't know any other way. But not usually the impassioned.
I use garlic in everything. I’ve only ever used a garlic press, unless I need just a smashed or halved clove. I’ll have to try these other methods. I smash them with a knive and peel them, then in the press they go. My hands always smell of garlic, so it’s not about not getting dirty; I only prefer the press so my hands are a little less sticky and I can move on to my next meal prep task without having to struggle with removing pieces of garlic and peel off my fingertips
I use a little japanese grater (it looks like a little rectangular plastic dish with a small thin metal grater in the bottom). It works for ginger too, which makes it twice as useful as a garlic crusher.
Zyliss have a good garlic press as you don't need to peel the clove. Other than this the crushing with a cooks knife works well. add a touch of salt and you can turn this into a paste with your knife easily.
If I want it really fine then I use a rasp grater, but the meat pounder is perfect to just slightly crush (or totally smash).. I am a big fan of the pounder shown - so useful for lots of things.
I find that the garlic press is great for a really fast mince or for use in a more delicate dressing or sauce. The garlic never seems as strong from the press so I usually stick to the chef's knife smash and then quick chop.
Anthony Bourdain ranks right up there as one of my favorite teachers, and I'm with him on this one, but not for the same reasons. It's because it's one less thing to clutter my drawer and - most important - to wash.
Mine works well too- I often open the press up afterwards and lift the thin skins and fluff them up to repress again. Most of the time I get more garlic and juices out!
Ok, I do love my garlic press and use it pretty much every day. When you crush with a knife, some juice lingers on the cutting board and you don't get as fine a mash as you do with the knife blade. But now that I see Amanda's alternate use of her meat pounder, I'm a) laughing, and b) going to try it. Clean-up will certainly be easier.
I crush with a knife sometimes and sometimes I use the garlic press recommended by Cook's Illustrated (Zyliss). It does a very good job extracting the juices and such and leaving just some of the fibrous parts of the peeled clove. It is also relatively easy to clean, you just pull out those fibrous bits as it doesn't have that part with the little prongs that never seems to work anyways.
I'll come down on the Tony side. That would be nay. If the only reason you own a garlic press is to make garlic bread then I'll look the other way, but seriously it's a one note instrument.
Nay, nay, nay! The garlic juice (and lots of great flavor) remain in the press, never finding their way into whatever you're cooking. If you're going to peel a clove of garlic, you might as well take the ten seconds or less required to mash it with the side of your knife (which does 90% of the work of peeling it) and then chopping it with the same knife. ;o)
Even more...find the crush method easier, faster to clean up, gives better flavor, allows for mashing with other ingredients (or making a paste, if you add some salt to the chopping board after mashing, and do a quick chop and spread).
170 Comments
I read Bourdain is anti truffle oil. Well, sure. My lowly sample of truffle olive oil I was happy to find is deemed "shitty" from on high. OK. So where am I supposed to get fresh truffle? I live alone and am hardly able to manage dealing with a stalk of aging celery, let alone astromically-priced fresh truffle!! Disparaging garlic-presses while praising fresh truffle and In-N-Out Burger - I'll listen and hopefully learn, but take all of it with a big grain of salt (and he better not come out with a Bourdain-brand garlic press in a few years!!!)
Not a fan of Bourdain's culinary choices.
I very seldom use a press. As most people have said here a knife on a hard surface works great. Then I don't have to clean the press. 'grin'
If it works for you, use it.
There's no 'right way' for some things. I used to use a garlic press..and some times I'll still use it..sometimes I won't. Sometimes I'll pound it with salt in mortar and pistil..sometimes I won't.
Mostly, by the way, I squash and chop the garlic with a knife. When I'm in the mood for something a little different, I use the garlic press- but first I have to find it (no easy task), and after I've used it I've got to clean it- tougher than wiping off a knife.
So I vote for the knife.
Bottom line, though- smash that garlic any way you like; then enjoy it!
Having said that, my feeling is use one if you like, don't if you don't, whatever works for you - if you're gracious enough to cook for me, I'll be happy to eat it either way. (Not a big fan of the culinary police.)
I use it some times.
You don't have to peel the garlic! It flips open to clean easily. Almost all the good stuff comes through..more than any I've ever used. And sometimes, you want a delicate puree, instead of tiny pieces. I find that pressed garlic is best for some sauces, especially. I still mince and cut and slice and smash; now I just have one more variation to add to my repertoire.
Voted the Best Reply!