Garlic Presses

[awbrig]

Isnt that one of those things you put your fingers in and you cant get them out?

Im not falling for that trick again!

[Ladybug]

Oxo has a great garlic press and it's cheap - about ten bucks. When I use a garlic press, I use this one. (Sometimes I chop by hand.) It has an ingenious cleaning thingie on it with no separate pieces to keep track of. I am not convinced that hand chopping is better than using a garlic press - so I just use whatever is most convenient at the time.

[Varmint]

I have a little paring knife in which the tip broke off. Thus, with its flat end, it's perfect for cleaning my press.

[col klink]

What about, say, 9-14 cloves?  Do you just stand there, mouth agape, arms folded, with your eyes jumping back and forth from your knife to your processor?

Only sometimes, it depends on how much I've been drinking!

Really, if I'm mincing more than 5 or 6 cloves, I'll go to my small food processor:

It's quick, easy and most importantly it's easy to clean. But personally, I really love to mince garlice. Something romantic about it I suppose, as dorky as that sounds. That and I REALLY like wielding my chef's knife.

[tommy]

i use a spice grinder thingy to do garlic if i have more than 5 cloves or so. and it's great for lemongrass, ginger, and galangal as well.

[Varmint]

i use a spice grinder thingy to do garlic if i have more than 5 cloves or so.  and it's great for lemongrass, ginger, and galangal as well.

Don't you be giving me any shit over a garlic press if you use a spice mill for garlic!!!!

[tommy]

Don't you be giving me any shit over a garlic press if you use a spice mill for garlic!!!! 

it's just like a food processor. fast blades. i get all of the good stuff out and bung it right into the pan.

[col klink]

Do you have a separate coffee grinder for coffee? I imagine that all of those herbs and spices would taint any coffee ground in there. I only use my coffee grinder for pepper and other hard seeds. For what you've mentioned I'd use my chopper.

I bought it the day I did my last batch of kielbasa. It paid for itself the first day! There was no way I was going to mince 7 effin' heads of garlic by hand.

[Varmint]

I have 3 coffee grinders (one for coffee, a burr type for espresso, and one for spices). I also have a mini and a maxi food processor. It's all about the appropriate size machine for the job!!!

[tommy]

Do you have a separate coffee grinder for coffee? I imagine that all of those herbs and spices would taint any coffee ground in there. I only use my coffee grinder for pepper and other hard seeds. For what you've mentioned I'd use my chopper.

i don't grind coffee.

this thing is a chopper/spice grinder thingie.

this thing, yo:

[col klink]

Oh, then we basically have the same thing. What about large amounts of pepper?

edit: or mustard seeds?

Edited February 26, 2003 by col klink (log)

[tommy]

Oh, then we basically have the same thing. What about large amounts of pepper?

edit: or mustard seeds?

it handles quite a bit. small batches if necessary. it goes quickly. i don't often do more than a few tablespoons of spices on any given day. 2 or 3 batches, in about 1 minute, and i'm done. i love the thing. i think it's brilliant.

it handles mustard seeds as well.

[Varmint]

I use this for all my pepper needs:

It's a turkish coffee grinder and does a great job. It can finely grind several tablespoons of pepper in 30 seconds.

If you need large volumes, wouldn't you use the food processor?

[Stone]

I have a hand-mixer attachment for more than 7 cloves, less than 4 fists.

[JAZ]

A couple of days ago I got an Omessi "E-Z-Rol" garlic peeler. It works GREAT!

Put a clove (haven't tried it with more than one) in the roll, roll it on the table or cutting board under your palm, and PRESTO... a perfectly peeled clove.

More info at  Epinion.

It works best for one clove at a time. It can do two or sometimes three if the cloves are about the same size, but if one is appreciably larger than the other(s), it doesn't work so well.

[JAZ]

And even Alton Brown only dismissed the garlic press because it wasn't a "multi-tasker."

Well, you can use it for ginger.

[tommy]

And even Alton Brown only dismissed the garlic press because it wasn't a "multi-tasker."

Well, you can use it for ginger.

c'mon! that doesn't sound all that easy.

[Jim Dixon]

I usually just chop it for a clove or two, but for more, I like this handy garlic slicer.

Jim

[Jinmyo]

I just use a knife (unless I'm grinding in a mortar or using a stick blender for a Southeast Asian chile sauce).

Don't like gadgets because I spend much more time getting them out, setting them up and so on then it takes to just wipe the knife and board and go to the next thing.

[col klink]

I usually just chop it for a clove or two, but for more, I like this handy garlic slicer.

Jim

I've tried one of those but it must have been old because it gave me really coarse slices and it got stuck a lot. Is there any way to sharpen those?

[Marlene]

What about, say, 9-14 cloves?  Do you just stand there, mouth agape, arms folded, with your eyes jumping back and forth from your knife to your processor?

Only sometimes, it depends on how much I've been drinking!

Really, if I'm mincing more than 5 or 6 cloves, I'll go to my small food processor:

It's quick, easy and most importantly it's easy to clean. But personally, I really love to mince garlice. Something romantic about it I suppose, as dorky as that sounds. That and I REALLY like wielding my chef's knife.

I want one of these! Where do I find one?

[nervousnelli]

If you want your garlic very finely "chopped" try peeling the cloves and grating with a microplane. It's a quick way to end up with mountains of the stuff.

[col klink]

I want one of these!  Where do I find one?

You can buy it here.

I however picked it up at my local Fred Meyer here in Seattle.

[Marlene]

I want one of these!  Where do I find one?

You can buy it here.

I however picked it up at my local Fred Meyer here in Seattle.

Cool. Now I just have to find it in Canada. Or on my next trip to Seattle

[La Niña]

That thingie that Tommy has is similar to my mini-chop (it's a little itty bitty Cuisinart - great for garlic in larger quantities). I also have that garlic slicer that Jim Dixon has - I love that too.