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Nothing beats fresh garlic. If you are using powdered, jarred, or pre-peeled garlic, you are settling for less. Try fresh garlic again and see whether it isn’t a sensory experience you need in your life.
Given my penchant for fresh garlic, I see the garlic press as a must have item. If you are a garlic press newbie, you need to know that garlic presses are not created equal. Not even close. Many are flimsy, most are inefficient, a lot of them are hard to clean, and some require too much hand strength. None of these negatives is true of the Kuhn Rikon Easy Squeeze. If you have ever tried a garlic press made by another company, when you try this one, you will quickly recognize it as an engineering marvel. It really works well and it is much easier to clean. I don’t think the Easy Squeeze is the best looking press. Kuhn Rikon’s similar stainless steel model is absolutely beautiful. I own it too and it is a work of kitchen design that is truly art. But for those of us with weak hand strength, the less sophisticated easy squeeze model (available in black, red or blue) is both easier and cheaper. I first read about this model at Cook’s Illustrated where it was rated number one out of a field of thirteen presses.
Do you know of any Stuff Worth Buying? I would love to have you guest post. Write me at ChocolateandGarlic [at] gmail.com.
*I have received no financial or other benefits from the companies affiliated with this product. See my review policy at the bottom of my About Me page.
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3 Responses to “Stuff Worth Buying: Garlic Press”
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I do not like my garlic press so this is a very timely post. Thanks!.
I have tried one or two garlic presses in the past and both were duds, so I just mince my garlic. What are the benefits of using a press over mincing with a knife? I assume you don’t get as much garlic smell on your fingers, but does it make any difference in the flavor you get or anything?
There are two benefits to using a good garlic press (Of course, as I mentioned above, lots of them aren’t good). 1) A good press is much faster. I don’t have to peel my garlic, I just put it into the hopper one or two cloves at a time. Then I squeeze. With one scrape of a butter knife, I release whatever garlic didn’t already fall into the pan. With a second stroke, I scrape the peel into my garbage pile. Now, I have very poor knife skills because of my hand strength/fine motor issues, but I doubt that even those who are highly proficient would be able to mince the garlic as fast as I can press it. (Contest anyone?). In any case, I know that *I* can press garlic faster than *I* can mince it. Speed is important because I use so much garlic in my cooking. Mmmm. This whole post makes me want to go cook some aglio e olio!
2) I’ve heard that pressing garlic rather than mincing it releases more oil or garlic essence or whatever. I don’t know if that’s true. Cook’s Illustrated says they prefer garlic presses because it is possible to “break down cloves more finely and evenly” with a press than most people can with a knife (September 2006). This means the garlic flavor is distributed more evenly through the dish.