I don’t know when celebrity chefs and folks in the food industry started telling people that kitchen gadgets (particularly those designed to do a single task) were evil and a disgrace to kitchen-dom, but I know that I listened to them for a long time. Part of it was probably me wanting to prove that I was a savvy cook who could accomplish anything with a chef’s knife and my bare hands, just like my television mentors told me. I’ve gotten older and, hopefully, wiser. In short, I will use whatever I darn well please to get my dinners done in a timely manner. The garlic press is one such tool that I find very easy to use and convenient, but it’s still often vilified in the food industry.
What I love most about my trusty garlic press is that my fingers don’t get sticky and smelly the way they do when I mince cloves with my chef’s knife. Sometimes, you can even fit multiple cloves in the chamber at once. You can also put cloves in garlic presses with their skins on. Just place your garlic cloves inside, give a press, and the minced garlic is pushed out while the skin remains in the device.
Most recipes specify the form of garlic needed, whether that’s sliced or minced. Swapping minced garlic for sliced usually isn’t the best idea, as the press releases more oils, giving you a much stronger flavor that could overwhelm the dish. But when a recipe calls for minced garlic, nothing is easier than a garlic press. The professionals can call us “cheaters” all they want; in the end, we’re still cooking our own food (and sometimes even following their recipes!).
