What’s your favourite garlic press ?

I have a Zyliss which works well enough for me.

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My “microplane” (which is brand name) is an Aldi or Lidl version (dont remember which) that does a great job if I need grated garlic. Also hard to grate fingers on, happily. Also used for zesr and cheeses so has more than one use.

Alton is Alton Brown, a former TV host who investigates all sort of cooking techniques based on the science of why we do certain things in the kitchen. His series Good Eats was clever, funny, quirky, and educational, even for kitchen veterans.

Unitaskers are things that have only one use…Alton’s issue was with things that are expensive and take up space to do only one thing. I own very few unitaskers (two transatlantic moves in 5 years will force.a rethink of everything you own).

I (and others) value his opinion because we’ve watched his show and read his books and find his advice to be generally sound. Why would you deride something that you aren’t familiar with?

And for garlic smell you don’t even need lemon. Rub a stainless spoon over your hands under running water. Not a clue why, but it works a treat.

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The same topic has been discussed here:

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Thanks for the link @naf,
It has an interesting video and great tips for the OP who suffers from arthritis.

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Oh @Claus, my favorite garlic press is no garlic press! I have two sitting in the drawer and I curse at them whenever I see them.

I find them awful to clean, and there’s always so much garlic left in the press it’s such a waste.

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I only use a Microplane with cheese. They are WAY to nasty looking for my fingers to get close with a piece of garlic.

Oh, I take that back. I just remembered I use one for nutmeg but those are rare times.

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I use to have an Ikea garlic press that I enjoyed a lot and lost during one of our moves.

My gf gifted me a Pampered Chef garlic press with a brush to clean the hopper which is ok.
My preference is the Ikea one for performance and price.

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The one that I tried had plastic handles and the handles look lower on yours which might make it easier to use.

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My old inherited 1970s Zyliss Susi worked beautifully, but since it broke nothing (about 10 types) has really been as good, including a modern Susi. Now I’m happiest mashing the bulb with a fork and a little salt on a firm board.

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I usually smash it on a cutting board and use the Jacque Pepin’s technique.
My favourite garlic press is no longer made basic design easy to clean why improve on that?

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After a long search, that’s the one I’m using now. The pressed garlic comes out coarser than I prefer, but it’s otherwise great. Easy to use, reliable, and inexpensive.

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I LOVE the scent of raw garlic, especially on my hands. My earliest days of cooking were with my Italian grandmother who lived with us, every Sunday I got up to make the pot of gravy with her. Her hands always smelled of garlic, so the smell of it on skin/hands immediately brings me back to my grandmothers’ kitchen as a child.

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Personally, I hate all / most garlic presses. I buy a large bag, probably about a dozen cloves worth of garlic, whole peeled. I then usually use a 2-1 ratio of cloves of whole garlic with 1 shallot and I food process/finely chop them. I keep that in a plastic container and that is my “chopped garlic” for the week. I usually go through a bag of garlic a month.

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This is pretty much what we do but with ginger added to the garlic, for minced ginger-garlic or a paste. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.

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I don’t have the hand strength to operate a garlic press. I just smash with the side of a knife and chop what I need. Easy clean-up, too. My hands. never touch the crushed, chopped garlic. I scrape it off of the cutting board with the back of the knife.

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I have tried several garlic press models over the years and I think they all suck, and are hard to clean.

Minced Garlic - 1-3 cloves - Knife/Cleaver
Minced Garlic - 4 or more cloves - Food Processor
Finer Garlic/Paste - MicroPlane https://www.microplane.com/black-classic-stainless-steel-zester-and-grater

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I’m sure I have a couple lying around somewhere, but I never use them. Knife or confit.

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That is so true, if roasting the garlic there is no need for a garlic press just use your fingers to squeeze out the roasted cloves from their casings.

Can someone explain this to me? Are you guys passionate about garlic press or about garlic? I didn’t know garlic press is such a popular topic.

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I’m passionate about garlic and how I press mine.

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