fresh garlic info needed

RRP · October 2010

ok Ok OK - so I'm now 66 years old and until 2010 had never used real garlic, but instead relied on that crap in a jar. I have taught myself how to chop and have a terrific garlic press that Cook's Illustrated recommended a couple years back. Now here's my question...of late the large heads of garlic have been a bear to peel - in fact I end up gouging chunks out trying. Is there a trick short of buying "peeled" cloves which I really don't want to do?

Fidel · October 2010

yup.

cut the two ends off, then lay the blade flat on the clove and give it a light smack, just enough to crack the skins and they'll peel right off.

If you have a Zyliss press you can press the cloves with the skin on, just pull the skins out between cloves.

PattyO · October 2010

Smack it with the side of a wide knife, or roll it under your hand on a cutting board. The paper should peel right off.

Gator Bait · October 2010

I break up the bulb, place cloves on a paper towel or plate and nuke them for 7-10 seconds. Nuke to much and they get soft. Experiment a little and it will work perfectly.

Mikee · October 2010

Fidel wrote:

cut the two ends off, then lay the blade flat on the clove and give it a light smack, just enough to crack the skins and they'll peel right off.quote]
I basically do the same thing except I just give it a hit with the palm of my hand.

Judy Mayberry · October 2010

I use a Rosle garlic press, which sounds very similar to the Zyliss. The skin stays in the press and just peels out cleanly into the garbage without plugging up the little holes.

Do you remember the days of having to poke the garlic out of the tiny plugged-up holes? I'm as anal as you are, so I know you did that too.

Judy in San Diego

KenHawk · October 2010

Over the years I've tried a lot of gadgets out there.

In the long run, and I quote Fidel, "cut the two ends off, then lay the blade flat on the clove and give it a light smack, just enough to crack the skins and they'll peel right off."

Everything else is somethng to store, clean, and a year later... wonder why you still have it.

Piratequeen · October 2010

I LOVE my Rosle garlic press. It is so easy to clean. I like it so much that for Christmas I bought everyone in my family one as a gift along with a "Rabbit" wine opener. Two of the best gizmos ever created.

fishlessman · October 2010

lay a big knife on top and whack it, the skins will peel off easily. i usually hit it twice to smash it, makes mincing easier. if your peeling alot like for a cuban pork there is a simple trick. find two stainless bowls that one slightly fits into the other, fill one with 10 to 20 cloves, put the other one upsidown on top of the first like a cap, shake vigorously for a minute or two and the peels will fall right off. dont remember if i cut the ends off when i did this but i dont think so, but it was fast and you get whole cloves for slicing

Sundown · October 2010

when you're mincing garlic put a few drops of olive oil on it and your chopping will get easier.

nuynai · October 2010

Ever try roasted garlic. Doesn't have the strong bite of raw, but adds a sweetness and richness. It's easy to make and the net has plenty of recipes on how to make it. I store it forever, by covering it with olive oil, get out all the air and keep it in the fridge. The oil can than be used in all kinds of dishes.

Griffin · October 2010

I have always used a knife with a wide blade and smacked it like others have already said. The other night, though, I put the garlic on the cutting board and being in a rush and lazy and not wanting to grab a knife, I just smacked it with the palm of my hand. Worked just as good as a knife.

TheDirtyBurger · October 2010

Smacking with the knife is good as long as you have the sense to make sure your do not ruin your knife with blood. Or just slice off the tip and peel

As for chopping off both ends, I disagree. I recently started using the "root" end to hold the clove together while I mince or chop it.

1. remove from bulb
2. slice off tip (I usually peel at this point)
3. smash (if needed, it doesn't always need it)
4. Small slices from the "root" to the tip while keep the root intact
5. Small slices toward the root in the opposite direction you just sliced - so basically you are slicing under the garlic towards the root
6. Finish with slices across the previously made slices

Just like doing an onion but a lot smaller and more dangerous if you have fat ass fingers like me!

Boilermaker Ben · October 2010

What's the benefit of cutting off both ends? I just give them a whack and peel. I cut the root end off at the last...makes a nice handle. No need to cut off the top end, though if it's starting to sprout, and I don't have any fresher garlic, I'll dig the sprout out and discard it.

Boilermaker Ben · October 2010

If I want really fine, evenly sized mince, I'll slice root to tip, rotate 90 degrees and slice root to tip again, then cut across. That way I don't need to go over the whole pile again. If I just want it done fast, I just smash the hell out of it and run over it quickly with a knife...the thorough bashing takes care of the first two steps, and there's no root to tip slicing needed, and might save your fat ass fingers. Hell, it's faster than locating, using and then having to clean a garlic mangler-imean-press.

Deggman · October 2010

I used to always do the knife smack thing alot of people on here have said, until I met my Italian fiance. She saw me do the and said "what the heck are you doing!?" She then showed me how to do it even easier. Just cut the tips, and get a hot cup of water and throw the cloves in and let them soak a couple of minutes. It doesn't really take long and the garlic pretty much just slips out of the skin. You don't even have to take the fine paper like part of the skin of before putting it in the hot water. Also, I still use the canned stuff when I need ALOT of garlic, i.e. marinating a huge chunk of beef, or lamb!

Little Steven · October 2010

Ron,

Don't buy the peeled cloves or Chinese garlic. I use different methods depending on the freshness of the bud. If it is really new you have to use more force when breaking the skin. You don't want to smash the clove, just enough to loosen the connection to the outer skin. It should peel easily after that. The older the bud the less force needed. If the clove is large I'll slice most of the way through a couple of times horizontally and then slice vertically as thin as I can. Similar to dicing an onion. Turn the resulting pile or the cutting board 90* and repeat.

Steve

lowercasebill · October 2010

thanks, steven for bringing up chinese garlic ..
RRP, be sure to check the country of origin,, much of the garlic now comes from china, and imho is not safe to eat..
you will see that the chinese garlic has a green center as it starts to sprout while on the container ship.. fancy chefs say the green is bitter.. even with my home gown arkasas elephant garlic once i crack and peel the skin i carefully slice lenghtwise to expose the green shoot and remove it ..
for minced garlic chop it coursly and add a bit of kosher salt.. put the flat of your knife on it ,, press down hard and drag the knife over it back and forth ..

fresh garlic info needed

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