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By eHow Food & Drink Editor
Garlic is one of the most common ingredients in cooking. Using fresh garlic that you peel yourself gives the best results. It's going to be a time consuming task and you will probably curse yourself for not buying peeled garlic when you're done, but if anybody could do it, there wouldn't be an eHow on it.... Read full How To Article
lizzyscully
published this on
May 12, 2009
"You can never use too much garlic," was my mother's kitchen mantra. She had jars of minced garlic in the refrigerator at all times, and she was never shy about putting gobs of it into everything she cooked, from mashed potatoes to creamy pasta sauces. Thus, I grew up loving garlic. In addition to its nutritional value, it enhances the...
Unlike my mother, I prefer peeling and mincing my own garlic to buying jarred garlic. I think freshly minced garlic tastes better, and it provides me with more opportunities to meditate in my kitchen. I enjoy the sticky feeling I have on my fingers after I peel it and the fragrance that arises each time I sauté garlic in olive oil. In fact, along with cream, butter, and chocolate, garlic is one of my favorite foods. Here is how I peel and mince it.
First, I purchase garlic that isn't too dry, that doesn't have any stems growing out of it, and that doesn't have any moldy or rotten spots. All these things mean the garlic is not as fresh as it could be. Then I get a very sharp knife (dull knives make mincing difficult), a wooden cutting board, and a bulb of garlic.
The easiest way I have found to peel a clove of garlic is to put it onto the cutting board, place the flat part of a knife on top of the clove, and then give it one medium-hard whack, crushing it just a bit. You don't want to completely smash the clove flat, but rather just break it a bit to loosen up the skin. The idea is to loosen the skin so that it peels right off, but to still maintain the clove mostly whole so that it is easy to mince.
After removing all the peels and putting them into the compost bin, I then chop off just the very end of the clove where it is attached to the bulb. Next, I begin the mincing process. I take just one clove at a time (because I'm not talented enough to do more than one), and I slice it first lengthwise with a sharp knife. Then I turn it 90 degrees on a side adjacent to the one I just sliced, and I slice it in the same direction. Then I chop the piece from one end to the other as finely as possible. If the chunks are still too big (because my knife isn't sharp enough), I pile the garlic up, hold the end of the knife in one place, and lift the blade up and down from left to right in order to chop it even more.
When I finish, I scrape the remnants of my knife onto the pile, and/or put the garlic directly into the pan I am using for sautéing. I always clean the cutting board and knife right away because garlic juice is sticky and potent. And, I wash my fingers immediately as well. Garlic juice can burn your eyes or nose if you happen to wipe either after you mince garlic. Potent, delicious, and tasty with various foods, garlic is one of the world's more perfect foods.
I prefer buying organic garlic from the health food store. It is more potent.
I prefer buying organic garlic from the health food store. It is more potent.
Before peeling a clove, I put the flat part of my sharp knife on it, and then I give it a light whack-not too hard that I will totally smash the clove, but hard enough to break the skin.
Once you smash the bulb just a bit, the peel comes off easily.
After peeling the garlic, I finely slice it.
And then I chop it.
Then I have my pile of minced garlic.
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