How to Peel and Mince Garlic

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.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Cutting Boards
• Knife
• 1 whole head garlic

1. Select a whole bulb of fresh garlic whose cloves are held tightly together and are not discolored.

2. 

   Separate the cloves quickly by placing the garlic bulb root-side down on a cutting board and pressing down on it firmly with the heel of your hand until it separates.

3. To peel the cloves, arrange them on the cutting board and whack or press them firmly with a heavy object, like the flat side of a chef's knife, a kitchen mallet, or small pan.

4. 

   Cut away the woody end of the garlic clove where it was attached to the bulb.

5. Discard the skins and clean the cutting board before mincing.

6. 

   First chop the garlic roughly. Use the same theory as with an onion: Make a series of horizontal cuts on the clove (separating it into thin slices), then a series of vertical cuts (separating it into thin sticks). Then dice the sticks.

7. 

   Mince the chopped garlic by chopping it with a rocking motion: Keep the tip of the knife on the cutting board and move the handle up and down.

8. Stop every few strokes and use the blade of the knife to draw the garlic pieces back into a neat pile before continuing. Scrape off the garlic that has stuck to the side of the knife blade, too.

Tips & Warnings

• Wetting your fingers with water from time to time will prevent them from getting sticky from the garlic.

• If salt is called for in your recipe, try adding a little to the garlic as you're mincing it. The salt will help break the garlic down and make mincing easier.