How to Press Open a Clove of Garlic

Cloves of unpeeled garlic

Garlic is a key ingredient in many dishes from Italy and other countries. It contains allicin and diallyl sulphides, which may have many health benefits (see Garlic Central). For almost all recipes (except roasted garlic) the cloves must be peeled. If you've been avoiding cooking with garlic because of the difficulty of peeling the cloves, it isn't as tedious as it seems.

Things You'll Need

• Garlic cloves
• Knife with a broad blade

Instructions

1. Place the clove of garlic on a hard surface.

2. Carefully place the flat of the knife on the clove of garlic.

3. Gently press on the flat of the blade with your hand. Be careful to keep away from the blade. Press until you feel the clove give a little.

4. Remove the peel. It should come off easily, in one big piece.

Tips & Warnings

• Another method is to give the blade a sharp whack, but this often crushes the clove. If you're going to be crushing the garlic anyway, that's fine.

References

• Ochef
• Garlic Central