garlic!

On Fri, 20 May 2005 17:23:51 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden] (Glitter

Ninja) said:

I love garlic but I'm really tired of trying to mince garlic by hand,
especially if I want more zing and want smaller pieces. (Chopping is
hard! 😉 So I'm in the mood to buy a good garlic press this weekend.
What do you look for in a garlic press? I assume a press essentially
minces the garlic. Do you have any presses you recommend?

Stacia

I have a plastic Pyrex Accessories garlic press. I like it because
the holes are big enough to make minces (which I cut off with a knife
as they are extruded) instead of mush. It has the opposing teeth to
push out the tough stuff that remains after pressing. It goes in the
dishwasher.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

(Glitter Ninja) said:

I love garlic but I'm really tired of trying to mince garlic by hand,
especially if I want more zing and want smaller pieces. (Chopping is
hard! 😉

I recommend reconsidering, and instead try this technique: Get a big
chef's knife, whack the garlic with the side of the knife, slide the
garlic from it's skin (this whacking loosens the skin), do a quick
chop, and use the garlic.. I can do this as fast as I can dig the
press out of the drawer and use it. I only use a press if I'm in need
of a *lot* of garlic mash (usually only when I do mashed potatoes).

Quoted message said:

What do you look for in a garlic press?

One that crushes the garlic and doesn't jam up. I've seen way too
many presses that just kinda mangle the garlic without actually
producing anything.

Quoted message said:

I assume a press essentially
minces the garlic.

It crushes it, actually.

Quoted message said:

Do you have any presses you recommend?

If you're going to insist on a press, I've been happy with my Susi one.

--
Richard W Kaszeta
[email hidden]
http://www.kaszeta.org/rich

Glitter Ninja said:

I love garlic but I'm really tired of trying to mince garlic by hand,
especially if I want more zing and want smaller pieces. (Chopping is
hard! 😉 So I'm in the mood to buy a good garlic press this weekend.
What do you look for in a garlic press? I assume a press essentially
minces the garlic. Do you have any presses you recommend?

I have a Heinkel garlic press that works great. It is large enough to press
large cloves. It comes with two inserts with different size holes so you
can press it a little finer if needed. It is easier to clean than the one
piece presses I have had before. Bear in mind there are still lots of
things for which the press is not appropriate.

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Glitter Ninja) said:

I love garlic but I'm really tired of trying to mince garlic by hand,
especially if I want more zing and want smaller pieces. (Chopping is
hard! 😉 So I'm in the mood to buy a good garlic press this weekend.
What do you look for in a garlic press? I assume a press essentially
minces the garlic. Do you have any presses you recommend?

Stacia

I have this one...as recommended by Kay Hartman on this list years ago.

http://usa.zwilling.com/products/twin/gadgets/twin/items.html#

I like it because it really pushes all the garlic through and you don't
find half the clove left behind to dig out. It also has two screens so
you can choose how finely you crush the garlic.

I have also quite fallen in love with the frozen crushed garlic (and
parsley and basil and cilantro) at Trader Joe's. It comes in a
container like a mini ice cube tray. Each cube is one clove of garlic.
Just press it out into you dish and you're done. Great time saver and
it doesn't have all the preservatives that the refrigerated kind does
which I think tastes weird.

marcella

In article <[email hidden]>,

(Glitter Ninja) said:

I love garlic but I'm really tired of trying to mince garlic by hand,
especially if I want more zing and want smaller pieces. (Chopping is
hard! 😉 So I'm in the mood to buy a good garlic press this weekend.
What do you look for in a garlic press? I assume a press essentially
minces the garlic. Do you have any presses you recommend?

Stacia

I don't recommend garlic presses at all. ;-)

I use a fine cheese grater...

Same for fresh ginger root.
--
K.

Sprout the MungBean to reply

"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell‹you
see, I have friends in both places." --Mark Twain

"Glitter Ninja" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I love garlic but I'm really tired of trying to mince garlic by hand,
especially if I want more zing and want smaller pieces. (Chopping is
hard! 😉 So I'm in the mood to buy a good garlic press this weekend.
What do you look for in a garlic press? I assume a press essentially
minces the garlic. Do you have any presses you recommend?

I'm a smash-with-the-knife-and-then-mince person, myself, but I've never
tried a press. Some questions for those with presses. How exactly does
a press work? Do you put a whole unpeeled clove in, then press? Or do
you have to peel the clove first?

What if the clove has that green sprout-thingie in the middle (which I
have heard tastes bittter -- so I always take it out). Does it press
the green thing, including its bitter juices, into your final product?
or do you crush the clove halfway, check for the green thingie (removing
it if necessary) and then finish pressing? The garlic I buy often has
that green thing in it.

I tried to ask these questions at a Pampered Chef party once, and the
demonstrator pretty much ignored me and moved on...

"Richard Kaszeta" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

(Glitter Ninja) said:

I love garlic but I'm really tired of trying to mince garlic by hand,
especially if I want more zing and want smaller pieces. (Chopping is
hard! 😉

I recommend reconsidering, and instead try this technique: Get a big
chef's knife, whack the garlic with the side of the knife, slide the
garlic from it's skin (this whacking loosens the skin), do a quick
chop, and use the garlic.. I can do this as fast as I can dig the
press out of the drawer and use it. I only use a press if I'm in need
of a *lot* of garlic mash (usually only when I do mashed potatoes).

I'd like to second this; I have a (never used) garlic press in
one of the kitchen drawers at home. My wife bought it, knowing
that I use a lot of garlic, but not realizing that they're inefficient tools
of Satan and are a gold-plated @@#$^$^!! to clean. (Not that
I have anything against garlic presses, of course....:-))

If the knife is big (wide) enough, after you've done whack #1 to
loosen the skin, you can do whack #2 on the bare clove to
smoosh it (that's a technical term, that is), then do a few more
chops with the knife. I use a small Chinese "cleaver" for this,
just because it's got that nice broad side; I can place it flat against
the garlic, as parallel to the board as possible (so the garlic doesn't
fly out) and whack the other side with my fist.

If you really want a nice fine almost-pureed mass of garlic, after
you've got a coarse chop done on the cloves you can take the
edge of the knife (and for this you need a knife with a fairly
straight edge - again, my cleaver works just fine) and draw it
over the garlic with the side of the knife almost flat against the
board - i.e., sort of a "reverse slicing" sort of motion, the
idea being to crush the garlic underneath the side and edge of
the blade, leaving a smear of garlic trailing the edge. Think of
it as trying to spread the garlic out as you would crunchy peanut
butter, but with enough downward pressure to "crush the peanut
chunks". You can sprinkle a little kosher salt over the chopped
garlic before doing this, with the idea being that the salt grains won't
be crushed as easily as the garlic and will therefore act to
help grind it up. Don't know if that actually works, but then I'm
generally going to be putting salt into the mix anyway. After
you make the pass with the blade, you'll have a smear of garlic
paste on the cutting board, which can then be scraped up easily
with the knife and put into whatever needs garlic. (And let's
face it - what DOESN'T?)

Bob M.

Bob Myers wrote:

<a bit of snipping>

.....you'll have a smear of garlic

Quoted message said:

paste on the cutting board, which can then be scraped up easily
with the knife and put into whatever needs garlic. (And let's
face it - what DOESN'T?)

Bob M.

We like garlic in almost anything! (except ice cream, which I believe
is a delicacy in some places) 🙂

We were thinking of getting a garlic crusher (as I was called a cretin,
or some such compliment, for using store-bought crushed garlic -
sometimes) but your way works very well for me too.

Cheers
Cathy

Glitter Ninja said:

I love garlic but I'm really tired of trying to mince garlic by
hand, especially if I want more zing and want smaller pieces.
(Chopping is hard! 😉 So I'm in the mood to buy a good garlic press
this weekend. What do you look for in a garlic press? I assume a
press essentially minces the garlic. Do you have any presses you
recommend?

Stacia

I use a Black and Decker Mini Chopper for my garlic and it works great!
It's like a mini food processor, but it's really small, takes up very little
counter or cabinet space, and is easy to use and clean. I don't know what
I'd do without it anymore! So, my seldom-used garlic press remains in my
cluttered "gadget" drawer.

Pic of chopper is here: http://www.rehabmart.com/product/5839.htm

kili

"Cathyxyz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bob Myers wrote:

<a bit of snipping>

.....you'll have a smear of garlic

Quoted message said:

paste on the cutting board, which can then be scraped up easily
with the knife and put into whatever needs garlic. (And let's
face it - what DOESN'T?)

Bob M.

We like garlic in almost anything! (except ice cream, which I believe
is a delicacy in some places) 🙂

My ex-gf took me to an ice cream place in a little town in the mountains of
western Puerto Rico. They had garlic ice cream, which was interesting. Other
unusual flavors included bacalao. Yes - dried cod flavor ice cream. I like
bacalao, but that would've been pushing the limit for me.

Curly Sue said:

On Fri, 20 May 2005 17:23:51 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden] (Glitter
Ninja) wrote:

Quoted message said:

I have a plastic Pyrex Accessories garlic press. I like it because
the holes are big enough to make minces (which I cut off with a knife
as they are extruded) instead of mush. It has the opposing teeth to
push out the tough stuff that remains after pressing. It goes in the
dishwasher.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Sue, do you do this for every meal, or do you do a whole lot at a time?
If so, how do you keep it for another meal? I have been told that you
can press a whole lot and keep it in a jar with olive oil, for later use.

Thanks
Cathy
--
I don't suffer from insanity - I enjoy every minute of it

cathyxyz said:

Curly Sue said:

On Fri, 20 May 2005 17:23:51 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden] (Glitter
Ninja) wrote:

Quoted message said:

I have a plastic Pyrex Accessories garlic press. I like it because
the holes are big enough to make minces (which I cut off with a knife
as they are extruded) instead of mush. It has the opposing teeth to
push out the tough stuff that remains after pressing. It goes in the
dishwasher.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Sue, do you do this for every meal, or do you do a whole lot at a time?
If so, how do you keep it for another meal? I have been told that you
can press a whole lot and keep it in a jar with olive oil, for later use.

I press only the amount I need for a particular dish and don't store
it.

Which reminds me, I need to buy garlic!

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Glitter Ninja said:

I love garlic but I'm really tired of trying to mince garlic by hand,
especially if I want more zing and want smaller pieces. (Chopping is
hard! 😉 So I'm in the mood to buy a good garlic press this weekend.
What do you look for in a garlic press? I assume a press essentially
minces the garlic. Do you have any presses you recommend?

I've had several presses over the years. I don't use one often,
prefering to smash and chop. But, there are times when pressed garlic
is preferable and this one is the best I've run across. It's heavy
duty in construction and is much bigger than most presses. It holds
more garlic and the long handles (actually 7-1/2inches) make squeezing
much easier. I have no doubt this will be the last garlic press I buy.

http://www.greenfeet.com/stainless-steel-garlic-press.html

nb

Doug Kanter said:

My ex-gf took me to an ice cream place in a little town in the mountains of
western Puerto Rico. They had garlic ice cream, which was interesting. Other
unusual flavors included bacalao. Yes - dried cod flavor ice cream. I like
bacalao, but that would've been pushing the limit for me.

Me too. However, we like to have bacalao (cod) at New Year. The MIL is
an expert. It an old family favourite. She soaks the fish until its not
too salty (can take up to 24-48 hours, cos we get it dried), then she
boils it until it is done. We have *plenty* of deep fried onion rings
with it and boiled potatoes. It is the best..... Yum. Traditional dish...
Cheers
Cathy

--
I don't suffer from insanity - I enjoy every minute of it

"Curly Sue" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I press only the amount I need for a particular dish and don't store
it.

Which reminds me, I need to buy garlic!

Ditto! on both counts. I do not like stored garlic.
Hate garlic presses, too.

nancy

Curly Sue said:

cathyxyz said:

Curly Sue wrote:

Quoted message said:

I press only the amount I need for a particular dish and don't store
it.

Which reminds me, I need to buy garlic!

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

That leaves only only two options: buy a press or get DH to do the smash
thing with the Chinese clever thingy!!. He says he nearly bought one the
other day... his birthday is coming up - gives me an idea! 🙂

Cheers

Cathy
--
I don't suffer from insanity - I enjoy every minute of it

Bob Myers said:

they're inefficient tools of Satan

I have never seen Satan in a Kitchens, Etc. Maybe in Wal-Mart, though.

Quoted message said:

If the knife is big (wide) enough, after you've done whack #1 to
loosen the skin, you can do whack #2 on the bare clove to
smoosh it (that's a technical term, that is), then do a few more
chops with the knife.

Maybe I'm not doing it right. I can get the skin easily enough, and I
smoosh (scientific term) the garlic, but when I cut it often doesn't
completely cut through the bits, so I get a big chunk of connected,
smooshed garlic. I even got another knife, thinking it was my knife that
was the problem.
Maybe the garlic is just smarter than I am.

Quoted message said:

with the knife and put into whatever needs garlic. (And let's
face it - what DOESN'T?)

Chocolate milk?

Stacia
was this a trick question?

kilikini said:

I use a Black and Decker Mini Chopper for my garlic and it works great!

Quoted message said:

Pic of chopper is here: http://www.rehabmart.com/product/5839.htm

I am in love! There's nothing I like better than kitchen gadgets, but I
never cook for more than 2 so the smaller the better. Thanks for the
link!

Stacia

"cathyxyz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doug Kanter said:

My ex-gf took me to an ice cream place in a little town in the mountains
of western Puerto Rico. They had garlic ice cream, which was interesting.
Other unusual flavors included bacalao. Yes - dried cod flavor ice cream.
I like bacalao, but that would've been pushing the limit for me.

Me too. However, we like to have bacalao (cod) at New Year. The MIL is an
expert. It an old family favourite. She soaks the fish until its not too
salty (can take up to 24-48 hours, cos we get it dried), then she boils it
until it is done. We have *plenty* of deep fried onion rings with it and
boiled potatoes. It is the best..... Yum. Traditional dish...
Cheers
Cathy

Sounds better than what my MIL used to serve (for xmas): 5 day old haddock,
from a fish shop where the clerks would hang over the merchandise with ashes
falling off their cigarettes. She prepared this delicacy by topping with
slices of tomatoes, and then American cheese. Absolutely awful. Fortunately,
the fish store was shut down by the NY DEC for selling local freshwater
species which were prohibited from commercial sale, AND on NY's health
warning list due to chemical contamination.

Fortunately, the MIL is also out of the fish business. :-)

<gag>