The Garlic Press
When I was a young, naive cook in college, I would take great lengths to add fresh garlic to my meals. I had to pry the individual cloves off the bulb, cut off one or two ends, and peel away the hard exterior shell of the clove. Then, trying to keep a grip on the slippery thing, I would attempt to dice the clove into pieces small enough so that no-one would bite down on a huge piece of garlic in whatever dish I was making. The process always took a long time, and was often frustrating.
Many years later, along with hands that smelled like garlic for days on end, I was introduced to the garlic press. I was at a Pampered Chef party, trying to rationalize why I should spend hundreds of dollars on things that I would only use a few times, when the woman next to me whispered “The garlic press is great, you’ll never regret it.” Looking at the strangely handled contraption, I had my doubts. After another woman suggested it was also I life-saver, I reconsidered. I rationalized more — it was under twenty dollars. I could stick it in the dishwasher. Not wanting to leave the party without anything, I made the plunge and ordered one.
True to that wise woman’s words, I have never regretted it. This ingenious gadget allows for hands-off slicing and dicing, in a matter of seconds. No more peeling and trying to hold on to a slippery piece of food. All I do is place the clove, peel and all, in the hopper, squeeze the handles, and the garlic comes shooting out the holes on the other side. That’s it!
Now, “shooting” is an appropriate term for this garlic press. Maybe I’ve got a really strong grip, but the minced garlic actually does come flying out the business-end of the press. I always have to use it over the pan or dish, so it doesn’t land all over my working space. There is usually a bit of garlic that is hanging out from edge, also – I just take a paring knife and slice the remnants into my pan. Viola – that’s it.
Cleaning is a little trickier. I’ve found that reverting to my lazy characteristics does not bode well when I’m cleaning the garlic remains out of the press. First, you have to open the press, and scoop out the skin and excess garlic. More often than not, bits of garlic get stuck in the little square holes in the press. The lazy person in me wants to just stick the press on the top dishwasher rack.. From personal experience, this really does not work well. You’ll only left with steam-dried pieces of garlic in the little holes. Fortunately, the press comes with a detachable cleaning tool. All you do is insert the tool in the hoper, and all the little pieces fall out. Of course, you’ve got to clean the little cleaner, but you just have to put aside your lazy self for a moment, and just rinse the thing off.
The health benefits of using fresh garlic in your diet are numerous, assisting in the prevention of the common cold, flu, and an anti-oxidant. The garlic press is an easy way to include this wonder-herb in your cooking.
