Garlic Press: Is there a "Best?"

[A Patric]

Dear all,

I know that it may sound like such a simple thing that any press would work, but it hasn't been my experience that this is the case (kind of like vegetable peelers).

I find that many garlic presses don't contain the clove in the "pressing compartment" very well and up to half of the garlic can squish out the top without being sufficiently reduced to small bits.

I am wondering if there are higher quality presses that might do quite well at capturing the vast majority of the garlic and thereby do well at reducing mess and waste?

Does anyone have any suggestions? I hate to spend the money on another faulty design.

Sincerely,

Alan

[fifi]

I have a couple of presses. Well, actually, not anymore. They got donated for a charity sale. That was after I discovered the magic of the microplane and what it does to garlic. This is my current microplane. Not the coarse one. They are much easier to clean as well.

[snowangel]

I have a couple of presses. Well, actually, not anymore. They got donated for a charity sale. That was after I discovered the magic of the microplane and what it does to garlic. This is my current microplane. Not the coarse one. They are much easier to clean as well.

←

Ahem, Linda. Mention the mushroom.

[Gifted Gourmet]

a variety of garlic presses compared by price .. but my personal press is the OXO Good Grips which suits my needs in a home kitchen. I actually snapped one of these in two with a hard chunk of garlic once!

[bigbear]

America's Test Kitchen likes the Zyliss brand.

[Ben Hong]

Chinese cleaver/knife. Smack the bulb hard, lift off the skin, mince. Don't need no steenkin' press.

[rlibkind]

"Presses? Presses? We don't need no stinkin' presses!"

Smash 'em with a chef's knife. Presses are more trouble than they're worth.

[fifi]

Ah, yes. The stainless steel mushroom. I am contemplating elevating it to cult status. Look at my avatar. The little thing smashes garlic gently to remove the peel. Then it can be used to smash garlic to a pulp, the flat "stem end" on the cutting board or the round "cap" in a bowl. Rub your hands on it under the faucet and it removes the garlic smell. The edges even get under fingernails.

Too bad AMCO doesn't make them anymore. I want to start a "movement" to correct that.

Between the microplane and my sacred mushroom, I don't need no stinkin' garlic press.

[Marlene]

I have a couple of presses. Well, actually, not anymore. They got donated for a charity sale. That was after I discovered the magic of the microplane and what it does to garlic. This is my current microplane. Not the coarse one. They are much easier to clean as well.

←

Ahem, Linda. Mention the mushroom.

←

Do not mention the mushroom. I crave one of those gadgets and they don't make them anymore.

[fifi]

. . . . .

Do not mention the mushroom.  I crave one of those gadgets and they don't make them anymore. 

←

Ah . . . But I have a plan.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

[Marlene]

. . . . .

Do not mention the mushroom.  I crave one of those gadgets and they don't make them anymore. 

←

Ah . . . But I have a plan.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

←

it's really not nice to toy with a person who is nicotine deprived.

[sparrowgrass]

I bought a Garlic Twister, and I love it. Peel the clove (smash it with your mushroom, go ahead), stick it in the Garlic Twist, and in 10 seconds you have nicely minced garlic.

Run it under the faucet, and it rinses clean.

I bought mine at a Kitchen Collections outlet store, but they are available on line.

Edited February 3, 2006 by sparrowgrass (log)

[A Patric]

Dear all,

I have no problem bashing the garlic and then using a chef's knife to mince the garlic, but I want a garlic press specifically because of the difference in the outcome of the garlic preparation between pressing and mincing.

When pressing the garlic, far more of its essential oils are released, so one gets a stronger garlic flavor in a dish with fewer cloves of garlic. Otherwise, the garlic keeps much of its flavor to itself, and the broth, sauce, or what-have-you, is not as garlicky in general. So, to me, the press is a way to really speed up preparation time, while at the same time reducing waste. This is useful, in my opinion, when making certain "Mediterranean/Middle-eastern" dishes that can use 10-20 cloves depending upon the taste of the person making it.

After having read quite a bit about the Zyliss mentioned above, I am sold on it. They even have a "Jumbo" model that can press three cloves at the same time. It also has a five year warranty that covers the least little problem. It is very nice to say the least.

However, I am also sold on a microplane because I would be able to use it with ginger, lemon rind, and I assume with nutmeg, cinnamon, and parmesan as well. Is this your experience Fifi? What else have you used it for? Does it work for chocolate?

Thank you to everyone for all of your help. I'll keep reading some more responses before actually purchasing anything, so please keep 'em coming.

Sincerely,

Alan

Edited February 3, 2006 by alanmcclure (log)

[Patrick S]

America's Test Kitchen likes the Zyliss brand.

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I use one of those. Only cost me a few bucks and it works great. Unless I want the garlic practically pureed, thats what I always use.

[Msk]

I have the Zyliss which is indeed a quality press. However, I find it difficult to clean.

I have another one pitched as an easy to clean press but the name escapes me.

The "Extrusion faceplate thingy" actually is hinged so its easier to get in the pressing cavity to clean.

If you are dealing with jobs of 10-20 cloves then the cleaning time is certainly worth the help the Zyliss would give you.

Msk

[fifi]

. . . . .

However, I am also sold on a microplane because I would be able to use it with ginger, lemon rind, and I assume with nutmeg, cinnamon, and parmesan as well.  Is this your experience Fifi?  What else have you used it for?  Does it work for chocolate?

. . . . .

←

Actually, I now have several microplanes, fine to coarse to strips. They work for everything. And they work better than any of the other gadgets. One of my other revelations was using it for ginger. I don't even peel it anymore, the peel comes off on the top side of the microplane as you are processing it and you just pluck it away.

[Marc Olson]

I used to distain garlic presses until I found one that worked. I'm a fan of the Oxo--comfortable, easy to clean, does the job!

All of the other methods are great, too, but I find that the texture of pressed garlic hard to get (quickly) with any other method.

[mikeycook]

I took a knife class and was taught a technique that I have found preferable to the garlic press, but with similar results. If you are right handed, brace the clove of garlic with your left hand and hold a good paring knife parallel to the board with the top of the blade toward the clove and the cutting side pointing away. Quickly scrape down and away (to your right) with the knife in a circular motion (I put my index finger on the upturned side of the blade) so you are basically scraping the clove with the top of the blade (not the sharp side) and the clove will quickly disinegrate into bits that make it look like it came through a garlic press (with the attendant oils released as well).

Since I have yet to use a garlic press that didn't involve taking some chunks out and mincing them by hand, I have found this to be a more consistent method and it is relatively easy to get the hang of.

[Kouign Aman]

Ah, yes. The stainless steel mushroom. I am contemplating elevating it to cult status.

Too bad AMCO doesn't make them anymore. I want to start a "movement" to correct that.

←

Oh my. I want one! Yes please, right now, thank-you-very-much St Valentine, Easter Rabbit, Mother's Day Fairy, Santa Claus.... whoever can pull it off.

It looks like I'll be scouring garage sales unless fifi is successful.

[hitmanoo]

America's Test Kitchen likes the Zyliss brand.

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I like Zyliss as well. A great press that's durable and easy to clean. Also good for mincing ginger as well.

[Chezkaren]

I can already hear the groans my reply is going to create but I got a garlic genius from Williams Sonoma (at least I think that's the name). It sort of looks like a pepper mill but you put the garlic in and twist the top which forces the garlic through a grate and then a blade slices them off into uniform pieces. Really comes in handy when I'm making garlic salad and everyone (and by everyone I mean me) can see all the nice pretty uniform dices of fresh garlic.

[scubadoo97]

We have a couple of presses but if I am looking to get a paste and get all the oils out I will use my chefs knife and salt.

[fifi]

Ah, yes. The stainless steel mushroom. I am contemplating elevating it to cult status.

Too bad AMCO doesn't make them anymore. I want to start a "movement" to correct that.

←

Oh my. I want one! Yes please, right now, thank-you-very-much St Valentine, Easter Rabbit, Mother's Day Fairy, Santa Claus.... whoever can pull it off.

It looks like I'll be scouring garage sales unless fifi is successful.

←

My son was successful at Marshall's and some other place in Chicago. Resale places like Marshall's, Kohl's and Tuesday Morning are places to check.

I have to admit that I am going to need that Garlic Twist. The little dices are what I need for the ojo de ajo that I keep a jar of in the fridge. It is diced garlic in oil and butter that is simmered very slowly until the garlic is toasted. Only the fine dice will do and I have looked for ages for something that will do that. Baker's Catalog has it, too.

[sparrowgrass]

Fifi, sounds to me like the Garlic Genius does a better job of uniform dice. The Twist kinda mashes the garlic instead of slicing it.

Twist it a few more times, and you have garlic paste.

I have never used my microplane with garlic--I think I would lose my finger prints. I do use it for ginger. I keep the ginger in the freezer, and just grate off what I need without peeling. Most of peel stays on top of the grater--the rest is shaved too fine to notice.

I got my microplane at the hardware store, on sale for $8.

[fifi]

I looked at the Garlic Genius and you are probably right. I needed to order some things from Baker's Catalog anyway so I went ahead and ordered the Twist. If it works ok for my purposes that is good. If it doesn't, then I may drop the bucks for the Genius.

When using the microplane for the garlic, I just grab it by the root end and sacrifice about an 1/8 inch of the clove to save my fingers.

More and more, I am seeing containers of peeled garlic cloves at my grocery. Sometimes they are better than the "fresh" garlic in the bin. We really don't get very good garlic here very often.