Got a Lot of Garlic?

[jennyema]

Says who! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

You are very right that way. It’s a smasher but doesn’t make sense for a single clove.

I meant with a knife.

 

[taxlady]

If your goal is to make it into a paste, it is 1000% easier to do that way.

I learned it from tv chefs

Its pretty difficult to smash a whole fresh garlic clove into a paste

I've seen TV chefs do that also. Much easier to scrap into a paste with the side of a knife with salt if the pieces are smaller.

I have smashed and then chopped/minced and the sprinkled the salt and dragged my knife to make a paste. It works fine in that order. I'm not trying to turn the whole clove into paste before I chop it up. I don't try to smash the whole thing to paste straight from whole clove.

 

[taxlady]

It wasn't bad. It was one clove. Oh, the other thing that sometimes used to happen - the garlic would just go flying without smashing. I gave up on that and started laying the knife on the garlic and squishing the knife down by leaning on it with the palm of my non-dominant hand on the knife.

Actually, at first when I gave up whacking the garlic with the knife, I copied Julia Child's method. She would lay the garlic on the cutting board. Then, she would put the chef's knife flat on the garlic and give it a good whack with the side of her fist. I did that until the day I got too enthusiastic or something. I managed to open a two inch long break in the skin on the side of my fist. I did it with the not-sharp, fat side of the Henckels chef knife.

 

[dragnlaw]

Sometimes I don't even peel them... I do rinse directly after use.
Only once did I take it further to make a paste but didn't find a big difference. So if you still want a paste, easy enough at this point to add your salt and press away with the side of your knife.

Actually the garlic press I have also has a cherry/olive pitter as part of the handle. Couldn't find a picture of one.

 

[Linda0818]

View attachment 70839
Sometimes I don't even peel them... I do rinse directly after use.
Only once did I take it further to make a paste but didn't find a big difference. So if you still want a paste, easy enough at this point to add your salt and press away with the side of your knife.

Actually the garlic press I have also has a cherry/olive pitter as part of the handle. Couldn't find a picture of one.

I used to have one of those. But it broke and I just never bought another one. Usually I just slice the cloves, then go to town on them with my chef knife until they're chopped coarsely or fine, depending on how teenie I want the bits.

 

[Linda0818]

Actually, at first when I gave up whacking the garlic with the knife, I copied Julia Child's method. She would lay the garlic on the cutting board. Then, she would put the chef's knife flat on the garlic and give it a good whack with the side of her fist. I did that until the day I got too enthusiastic or something. I managed to open a two inch long break in the skin on the side of my fist. I did it with the not-sharp, fat side of the Henckels chef knife.

Oh dear. How did you manage that one???

Maybe I'll just stick to slicing and dicing

My knife is a Henckels too (I may have already mentioned that, but I can't recall). I love it. Sliced into a big cantaloupe the other day and it barely took any effort at all, when before I bought that knife, I would struggle just trying to get the other knife I always used down into the rind. But with my Henckels, *whoosh*, melon open.