…this recipe for Nanci’s chickpeas?
I’ve made these before, and I’m sure I can sort this on my own, but I thought I’d share this unhelpful AI response,
and see if my fellow HO’s had some instances when it was important to peel cloves before cooking a long cooked dish.
The cloves in question are this 1/2 cup of pathetic hard necked Creole garlic varieties that would be an especially time consuming batch to peel, assuming they even survive the initial wack.
ETA this thread about peeling veg.
I would definitely peel them for this recipe as you will get more flavors out of them without the peel (And 16 cloves won’t take longer than 2-3 minutes to peel)
? (I do that on a regular basis)
I’ll be waiting!
But seriously, I can’t say I’ve ever timed it, it just seems like longer, for me. These are tiny, fiddly cloves I just dug. I just counted more than 30 in that measuring cup, and they are pretty fresh, so the peels are sticky.
Anyway, I was wondering why we do it, and I believe you said better flavor. Thank you for taking the time to reply! I do appreciate it.
I know some folks just smash or cut off the top of a bulb, but that’s usually in roasting recipes. In this recipe I put them in a large tea ball, with other things it would be a hassle to fish out.
Waiting for what ?
I peel all of my fresh garlic cloves.
Just smash with the broadside of a cleaver, and the skins come off like the dress on a cheap hooker.
I soak them in water for a while if I want to leave them whole, skin comes off pretty easily.
If they are going in Sachet I would just smash them and put in the Cheesecloth Peel, Root End and all!.
For that recipe, I would mash and not bother to peel. At the end, pick out any obvious loose skins and ignore the rest
Thank you; next time. Any thoughts on why and when it is important to peel garlic cloves?
All done; tediously peeled garlic in the cheesecloth with the other things going in the compost.
Tastes great!
If they are not going to be eaten, in the future I would not bother to peel. Especially with that very new garlic you were working with. Just put all the cloves under a cast iron pan, smush 'em, and put them in the cheese cloth. The flavor difference will be negligible.
Assuming you’re using them whole, the skins would inhibit flavor transfer. That might not be a bad thing, depending. And if they’re staying in the dish, the skins can slip and mess up the texture.
Thank you!
I think that smashing the cloves might ameliorate ( 
) the flavor transfer problem.
These beans are already considerably more time and labor intensive than opening a can, but none of the steps are as tedious as peeling the garlic. Maybe tying the cheese cloth, but sometimes I use a big tea ball.
The flavor difference will be negligible.
@Amandarama ; l might agree with you, in a recipe like this ( I’m thinking cooked in liquid with other aromatics for an hour or more, then removed). But hey; it’s Nancy Silverton’s recipe!
I love having these in the refrigerator, but I can’t imagine being able to tell the difference between peeled and unpeeled smashed cloves of garlic in them.
I’ve had really good results using this garlic peeler, especially after I developed severe hand arthritis. Just rinse it out and put it in the dishwahser after use.
I love the Nancy Silverton ceci recipe and only cook chickpeas with her method…and I make the recipe at least several times a year. I think it’s worth peeling the garlic because you more of the fresh garlic flavor without musty skin taste and you don’t have to fish out the garlic peels. I personally don’t bother with the cheesecloth, finding it easier to just take out the large veg pieces. I leave in small garlic pieces because I’m lazy.
I usually don’t peel the few garlic cloves I put in while making stocks of veg, chicken or beef because the extraction goes on so long and I strain it all out anyway.
I peel garlic maybe 99% of the time. Outside of roasting, I never think not to peel the garlic to be honest.
Totally. In fact, smashed skin on might give more flavor than just peeled. You should ask the author why.
But they are so much better when cooked from dry when compared to canned.
Garlic Paper should not smell “musty” it has a very mild Garlic flavor and no bitterness to boot
