Post Punk Kitchen Forum

i think this is the one i have cause im pretty sure i bought it at Bed Bath and Beyond and i think a lot of their stuff is Good Grips.

i can actually press garlic in it but it's REALLY hard and requires a lot of strength and then the membrane is still left behind so i just dont even bother with it.

I shall add my thoughts to this thread...

I used to be against the press... I have long been a happy mincer/microplaner, but that was before I got hooked on a recipe that is really good when you use 20 cloves of pureed garlic. Prep time would be greatly reduced if I had a press...

in that case, i would use the blender or food processor. (for small amounts, those are pointless, due to the loss/waste, but 20 cloves, blend that shiitake up!)

whine Oh, but then I'd have to spend all that time cleaning it afterwards... /whine

Yup, that's probably the smart thing to do.

this is why i never use my food processor to mince things even though it came with a blade specifically for that. im guessing time wise it evens out. either your mincing or washing dishes! ;-)

Press, because I'm lazy. In fact, I have two, just in case one is dirty. I like microplaned garlic, too, but I cannot figure out how to avoid also having microplaned fingernails, so I no longer use that method.

Reviving this thread because I just got a new garlic gadget that I love:

It slices garlic super thin, which I never have the patience to do with a razor. And now I can feel super fancy and use it to make crispy brown sauteed garlic as a garnish for pasta dishes and mashed potatoes

What brand is that garlic gizmo? I like it. Of course I probably won't get it because I don't even use my normal garlic press because I hate cleaning it. Chop chop chop chop

oh whoops, I didn't realize I forgot to mention the brand. It's Pampered Chef. There's usually a small sliver left at the end after slicing, so I just turn the thing upside down and whack it out and toss it into whatever I'm cooking. As far as cleanup goes, it's pretty easy, it comes apart and then I just squeeze a soapy sponge over it and rinse it.

Garlic presses can be nice but they are hard to clean. I am the big cheat my hand is probably messed up for good from something so chopping hurts. I go with minced garlic from a jar or Big Lots sells very thin deyhydrated garlic slices which I rehydrate. Both do my recipes good.

However undoubtedly there are times when fresh garlic is awesome. Can you freeze garlic bulbs? If do buy fresh they either sprout or dry out before I can use them up. I freeze ginger root. I've never thought about doing it with garlic.

Yes, I sometimes freeze them. I can't press them frozen, so I use mortar and pestle.

It depends on the application and how much I care. I usually just mince, but for marinades and dressings, I like pressed!

i just had my cousin give me the look of horror this weekend when she saw me smash, peel and then mince garlic. She went into near-hysterics, "didn't you see the garlic press????" i said "the garlic press is against my belief system" and between that and the atheist child i think they might exorcise me next time i'm there.

I just looked this up on Amazon - $31.25!! I guess I'll keep hand-slicing my garlic!

I smash the clove with my chef knife then mince it. It does not take me long and I don't think it's too messy. If I want it to be really mushy and spreadable I use my terra cotta garlic baking devise (usually use this to smear on bread). I have used the jar stuff but didn't like it as much as fresh and don't find fresh that hard to use up before it goes bad. I do like garlic salt to sprinkle on steamed veggies though.

weird. on pampered chef's site, it says it's $15.

yeah, that's weird that amazon has it for so much more. I paid $15 from pampered chef.