Garlic press

[glitch]

My old one has finally given up the ghost and I need to replace it with something nice and new as I have a strange aversion to chopping up garlic - AKA as laziness.

So, what's good? Zyliss? Kuhn Rikon? Jamie? Faringdon? OXO?

 

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Thanks for all the advice about how to crush, chop and generally deal with garlic, but I do like a crusher and I'm used to one now!

Interesting video though. I'll be sure to try that the next time I've got a whole head of garlic to skin.

I just use a knife, but whenever I watch Jamie Oliver's Thirty Minute Meals, I get garlic press envy - his looks like it's awesome...

I'm sort of assuming that's his branded one, but I've never been able to get a close look.

Made by Joseph Jospeh, expensive but work well

Looks like you've got to peel the cloves first. And for that reason, I'm out.

 

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You want one that you can crush with the skin on? Like, outer skin? :-/

Yes, that's how a garlic press works. You pop the individual clove, skin on, into the press and it squishes the garlic through that and out again.

You should try one - you might like it.

Chopping garlic takes what, 10 seconds? Crush with knife, that removes the skin. Then just slice and dice it. I don't see what's wrong with that method.

10 seconds? Hardly.

And I'm perfectly competent with my knives; I want my garlic pressed. If I wanted it chopped, diced, sliced or julienned I'd do that!

 

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As mentioned above though, all garlic presses I have ever used you peel it first, then press it, or you simply waste a boat ton of garlic. Hence the question... that's all

You need to get your hands on a proper one; it'll be revelatory.

Why do you want it pressed?

The same reason why you might want to finely dice it, thinly slice it, julienne it or crush it with the blade of your knife - different applications.

Personally I find crushed garlic is easier to work with and suits the majority of dishes that I cook. It also seems to taste stronger, although it might be mind over matter on that.

 

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I still maintain that my slicing will return more garlic, of a pretty comparable quality almost as quickly as your press will.

A garlic press will produce a result not too dissimilar to very finely diced or pureed garlic in about a second. Beat that, hotshot!

And once you factor in the extra washing up, and the price it just doesn't seem worth it to me.

No peeling necessary, no knives used, no chopping boards employed. And you whip the squidged clove out and chuck the press in the washing-up bowl or dishwasher afterwards.

Easy-peasy.

But enough of the sales pitch; after all I'm not trying to convert you to one, merely trying to find a replacement for my sadly deceased model!

I can't think of an application where pressed garlic will be more suited to finely sliced and diced or pureed.

You can't definitively say it's more or less suited to any particular task as that's opinion and not fact, but I find it it an invaluable tool in my kitchen.

As far as I'm concerned, it's more suited to sauces where you want garlic to be a flavour and not an identifiable presence; more suited to adding to hot oil for stir-frying and generally more suited to just about anything where you want to add garlic in a form other than slices.

 

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I didn't even know he had a branded one (although it's reasonable to assume he's got a branded version of everything, now)... but on Googling, yes, it was his one. Good shout!

He certainly seems to be pushing it in his recent shows too!

Not sure about the slicing aspect though. Seems a little unnecessary.

I wonder if he uses one in his proper cooking though?

If you mean in the restaurant, no, he doesn't. Everything is prepped by hand before service even starts.

Based on the reading I've done this afternoon about garlic presses, they are widely condemned in the world of chefs.

Oh, what do they know?!

 

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I had a close look at Jamie Olivers one and it does appear you don't need to peel it first, although it doesn't specifically say so. I'm looking at getting one because I always use pressed garlic, and peeling it to crush it seems like such a waste of time!

All 'good' presses should take unpeeled cloves. In fact, I'd regard that as essential.

Op have you got the JO one yet?

If you're referring to me, no.

I'm torn between the Zyliss and this Kuhn Rikon at the moment and the latter is probably where my money will end up.

 

[glitch]

Just in case anyone has been suffering from sleepless nights, I eventually went with the Kuhn Rikon model and it's pretty damn fantastic.

As with all the KR stuff I've got, it's very well designed, has excellent ergonomics, is easy to clean and just gets on with the job without fuss. And like a lot of the KR products on Amazon, the price dropped from its current level for a short while and I snapped one up.

All-in-all a fine replacement for my now, sadly departed, press.