High and Low: Garlic Presses
I loathe chopping garlic. I despise every part of the process, from peeling the cloves to mincing the sticky bits to having my hands smell like garlic for the rest of the day. I will chop garlic if I absolutely have to, but otherwise, I do my mincing in a garlic press.
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PHOTO Zyliss Jumbo Garlic Press (left) for large cloves of garlic and IKEA Koncis Garlic press for small cloves.
I loathe chopping garlic. I despise every part of the process, from peeling the cloves to mincing the sticky bits to having my hands smell like garlic for the rest of the day. I will chop garlic if I absolutely have to, but otherwise, I do my mincing in a garlic press.
Vegetarian cooking tends to call for a lot of garlic, so I have spent years searching for the perfect garlic press. I’ve snapped up cheap grocery store models and expensive gourmet shop versions. I’ve bought garlic presses in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Brazil, on the theory that since those cuisines call for a lot of garlic, the tools would be top-notch. I’ve tried them all and rejected most.
Two have stood the test of time.
LOW The first is a $4 IKEA Koncis garlic press. It’s sleek and round, and it minces small cloves beautifully without peeling. (Read: my hands never come in contact with any stinky garlic juice.)
HIGH The second is a $20 Zyliss Jumbo Garlic Press. The Zyliss isn’t quite as perfect as the IKEA model, which lifts out the garlic cloves skin when you’re done squeezing, but it is the only tool I’ve found that will mince large cloves of garlic with the peel on.
Do you have a favorite garlic press? Let us know by leaving a comment below.