how do you peel your garlic?

[coppercone2]

Monkey see monkey do, I always smashed it with the flat edge of a wide knife, because cooking shows, prior to pressing or grating.

However today I was in some deep thought and I realized it might be hurting my wrist a bit to slam on the knife with my palm. I thought was there not a better tool for this job. I should not have felt reluctant to process garlic but I did.

Then I realized a better tool exists, the kitchen mallet. The garlic is fine after being struck and it was considerably less effort then using  blade to smash it out of the hull.

I highly recommend the hammer for peeling garlic.

The serrations of the mallet leave some embossing (mine has a file on one side and a double cut file on the other side). Flat might work too if available.

[Ian.M]

Pick at the skins near the stalk till you can break off as many cloves as you need then squeeze each clove firmly lengthways between fingers and thumb, till you feel it give, to loosen the skin, then peel outwards from the base with your thumbnail.  Finally trim off the callus at the base with a knife.

[themadhippy]

ive never got on smashing garlic as bits either get stuck to the smashing device,or it takes loads of effort to break it apart,find it much easier to just chop it as ive already got the knife out to top and tail the cloves anyway,and dont waste the effort using a chopping board,the spatula your using to stir the stuff,resting  across the pan you want the garlic in  works just as well

[Halcyon]

If I want chopped (slightly chunkier) garlic, I press down with the side of a large knife then chop away, otherwise I just use a garlic crusher if the texture of the garlic isn't important.

[coppercone2]

that is what I am getting at, the press down with a knife is a inferior method to a mallet

[Halcyon]

that is what I am getting at, the press down with a knife is a inferior method to a mallet

Just means two things to wash. I mean I don't apply a lot of pressure. Just enough to "break" the garlic so when you chop it, it naturally forms small bits. But I guess do whatever works for you. There is more than one right way to do things.

Otherwise perhaps a coffee/spice grinder would do the job? Just good luck getting the garlic smell out, unless you had a dedicated vessel just for garlic and use another for spices etc...

[woody]

What I do: take a garlic head. Press down on it till it breaks open. Get the cloves out. Twist a clove using my two hands till I hear it break. Cut the end (where it was attached to the head) off and the skin comes with it. Cut the clove in pieces.

I would not know where I would use a mallet in this process. But I guess that for a man with a hammer everything looks like something you want to smash 

[coppercone2]

that is what I am getting at, the press down with a knife is a inferior method to a mallet

Just means two things to wash. I mean I don't apply a lot of pressure. Just enough to "break" the garlic so when you chop it, it naturally forms small bits. But I guess do whatever works for you. There is more than one right way to do things.

Otherwise perhaps a coffee/spice grinder would do the job? Just good luck getting the garlic smell out, unless you had a dedicated vessel just for garlic and use another for spices etc...

if you strike a garlic nut with a hammer there is no residue left on the hammer. You hit them unpeeled so they displace under the shell and allow for easy husking.  It is completely ridiclous to press on it with a knife 10+ times when you can use a hammer.

Even with a ribbed hammer, there was only a tiny flake of garlic shell on the hammer, and it was stuck in a damaged area (I used the soft hammer to break something hard that was not kithen related and it marred it).

[langwadt]

https://youtube.com/shorts/gxlRe5yiUmI?si=kazdAgQ3LBpA6ptH

[coppercone2]

i am doubtful about the reliability of that process I see most of the time the garlic that is affordable is all different shapes and sizes and its tougher then the garlic shown there

[coppercone2]

as expected the test garlic broke in half and the skin was still stuck to both halves

and its not even the cheapest garlic, its the larger more expensive single heads not the bag of mini garlics

[IanB]

Monkey see monkey do, I always smashed it with the flat edge of a wide knife, because cooking shows, prior to pressing or grating.

However today I was in some deep thought and I realized it might be hurting my wrist a bit to slam on the knife with my palm.

First of all, are we talking about a whole garlic bulb, or a single clove?

If it's hurting your wrist to smack on a single clove with a knife, then I think you are doing it wrong. It should just need the gentlest of taps. The thought once occurred to me to try a kitchen mallet, but as I suspected it was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Complete overkill, and it was in danger of obliterating the garlic in the process.

Important things are to be using the flat of a big chef's knife, not a small utility knife, to be working on a solid chopping board, and to cut off the root end of the garlic clove before tapping it. Then the technique is to give it the tiniest of love taps, just enough to loosen the skin so it comes off easily. If you actually squish the garlic you have hit it too hard.

As far as breaking the bulb apart is concerned, I just peel off the outer papery layers of skin, and then split the cloves apart with my fingers. I have seen someone smash a whole garlic bulb to break it apart, but that's only useful if you want to use the whole garlic in one go.

[coppercone2]

you people must have different garlic

gentlests of taps, half the time it does not come apart properly from the husk unless you bang that shit hard until its basically smashed

I would call it pound the side of the knife

[IanB]

Still, you didn't really answer the question, are we talking a whole garlic bulb, or a single garlic clove?

If peeling a single clove, you lay it on its side on the chopping board, you top and tail it, and then lay the flat of the knife on it and give it the slightest of taps, just enough for it to yield slightly. After that the skin should just peel off easily.

Even without squashing it at all, the skin should still peel off after you cut the root end off, as demonstrated in the linked video. The squashing just makes the process slightly easier.

https://youtu.be/QjZ1LFqNWRM?si=4oYE8MzgSbOeW9b-&t=2414

[coppercone2]

that is slow he has to interact with the garlic about 5 times with the knife to get the skin off all sides on one of the 3 cloves he peels. If you are going to do slices it might be the best way but if its going into a press or chopper machine then smashing is faster. It has about a 70% chance of totally leaving the skin once smashed with a mallet with the skin actually being in 1 piece. If you are willing to throw away a few small pieces of garlic with split skin I would say the 1-shot is about 95% chance of getting 90% of the garlic out with 0 skin on it. It's also not fiddly like the knife is. (sometimes there is a little sliver of garlic that has the skin stuck on it fairly tight after smashing, you  can throw this away to save time. SOmetimes I would rather just smash more garlic cloves then spend the time fiddling with it to try to salvage 5-10% of a clove). I find myself throwing away garlic that rots, or loses potency (sprouts). No sense in trying to maximize every little bit.

and you don't need to hold the knife, once smashed it removes with your fingers. hate always using a knife for everything

[Halcyon]

that is what I am getting at, the press down with a knife is a inferior method to a mallet

Just means two things to wash. I mean I don't apply a lot of pressure. Just enough to "break" the garlic so when you chop it, it naturally forms small bits. But I guess do whatever works for you. There is more than one right way to do things.

Otherwise perhaps a coffee/spice grinder would do the job? Just good luck getting the garlic smell out, unless you had a dedicated vessel just for garlic and use another for spices etc...

if you strike a garlic nut with a hammer there is no residue left on the hammer. You hit them unpeeled so they displace under the shell and allow for easy husking.  It is completely ridiclous to press on it with a knife 10+ times when you can use a hammer.

Even with a ribbed hammer, there was only a tiny flake of garlic shell on the hammer, and it was stuck in a damaged area (I used the soft hammer to break something hard that was not kithen related and it marred it).

I should add, I always peel them first. Top and tail initially, but I also "pull away" the bulk of the paper while holding the knife down at either end. It's like a cut-hold-pull motion.

I basically handle peeling and chopping/pressing in two entirely different phases.

[IanB]

I should add, I always peel them first. Top and tail initially, but I also "pull away" the bulk of the paper while holding the knife down at either end. It's like a cut-hold-pull motion.

I basically handle peeling and chopping/pressing in two entirely different phases.

That's basically what I do. When cutting the root end off, I don't cut all the way through, I cut and peel, and that takes away some of the skin. Then I turn it over and cut the tip, with the same cut and peel technique. After that, there is just a bit of remaining skin to remove, which is aided by a gentle squash with the flat of the knife.

If processing a lot of garlic, I can see the productivity boost from smashing with a mallet, but I don't usually need that much garlic at a time. An alternative, if making garlic puree, is to buy pre-peeled garlic cloves.

[TimNJ]

It seems like peel-ability can depend a lot on the variety of garlic. Lidl near has switched to a variety with a slight purple color. Compared to the previous white variety, the purple variety seems much more happy to release its skin and come off in one piece. Additionally, hardneck garlic (with the stem running through) should generally be easier to peel compared to softneck.

I peel a lot of garlic, and I'd say, choosing a different variety has been most helpful to me.

Or if you want a more industrial approach, here is an idea:

No experience myself.


https://www.walmart.com/ip/Garlic-Peeler-Silicone-Garlic-Roller-for-Garlic-Peeling-Chopper-Machine-Accessories-Quick-to-Peel-Peeling-Without-Smell/1213813117

[sanleontexas]

Don't know why y'all are going to all this trouble. Just go down the spice aisle of your
supermarket and get a jar of minced garlic. Nothing 'dirtied' and tastes the same. Unless
'your sense of taste is a lot more discriminating than mine. Nothing to wash, dip out a bit
of juice with a spoon if that's what you want or just the garlic or the garlic with a bit of
juice.

 

[Halcyon]

Don't know why y'all are going to all this trouble. Just go down the spice aisle of your
supermarket and get a jar of minced garlic. Nothing 'dirtied' and tastes the same. Unless
'your sense of taste is a lot more discriminating than mine. Nothing to wash, dip out a bit
of juice with a spoon if that's what you want or just the garlic or the garlic with a bit of
juice.

I have to disagree with you there, jar garlic tastes significantly different to fresh garlic, which can sometimes be desirable in different applications, like garlic bread/garlic pizza. Whilst convenient, I almost never use garlic from a jar because of the flavour it imparts (I'd almost describe it as slightly sour/metallic). Processed garlic will typically contain added sugar, salt, thickeners and acidity regulators. The more "natural" ones will usually contain vinegar as a preservative.

A good middle ground would be pre-peeled garlic cloves which you should be able to find in small trays or vacuum sealed packs from your local grocer. Although you'll probably find that the cloves are significantly smaller than buying a head of garlic.

[Ian.M]

The trouble with chopped/minced garlic in a jar is you need to use it fairly quickly once its opened before it oxidizes too badly.  If you will use a jar in a week or two maybe consider it, otherwise *NO*.  Personally for an instant garlic 'hit', (or just if I don't want to wash up the garlic press) I favour garlic puree in sunflower oil in a tube, specifically Gia brand.  Its 60% garlic in sunflower oil, + salt and sodium metabisulphite preservative.     Because there's no air space in the tube, and you aren't putting utensils into it, it keeps well in the fridge once opened.   

However any time I want more than half a clove or so, I generally grab and peel the fresh garlic as its better value, better flavour, and keeps better than an opened tube.

[coppercone2]

i noticed basically anything processed tastes different and its a big marketing sham. at best you can say small difference. vacuum and freezing helps but anything, including lemons, has aromatic chemicals that just don't last.

one that comes to mind is freeze dried cheese. rehydrated freeze dried cheese makes interesting nachos. for special occasions.

not that its unacceptable, just that if you have the time its often slightly or significantly better. unless your produce is mad old

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

"The one who must be obeyed" bought me a garlic peeler and mincer. 
The "peeler is a rubber tube. You put the garlic cloves in it and roll it around, works much better than hitting the garlic clove, loosens up the skin really well. .The mincer is a piece of slightly rounded metal with holes. you put the garlic on a board and push this thing down on it.  This thing also works very well but cleanup takes a little time so I use it only when a lot of garlic is needed.
Bought on Amazon, I think.

[IanB]

Indeed, I tried the rubber tube device, but I found the cleanup afterwards was too annoying.

As for mincing, I use a micro-plane. Works really well.

I checked in the grocery store, and found that vacuum packed, already peeled garlic cloves cost only a little more than fresh garlic bulbs. If I wanted lots of peeled garlic I would just buy the vacuum packed ones.

[coppercone2]

sounds like your missing a big bottle brush in the kitchen sink

i just keep it there because food processor cleaning etc