Does anyone have a good garlic press? My daughter is looking for one that really works the way they should, not leaving half the garlic in the press etc.

Brand name and where purchased, if possible, please.

Thanks

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), March 11, 2002

Answers

just look for one well made,, if it looks cheap,,then go for somethign else. I have a "GOOD COOK" brand,, works great,, bought it at the grocery store, I know Leahmans sells presses

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), March 11, 2002.

All garlic presses work more or less like a sieve, which means you're always going to have roughage left in it when you're done. You might simply want to smash the clove with the flat side of the knife, remove the skin, and toss it in whole into whatever you're cooking (let people eat it or fish it out, according to taste).

Another idea is to roast the entire garlic head (I think you can buy little terracotta containers for this) in the oven, and just squish out what you want, leaving the skins behind.

I have also removed the skins, ground the cloves up in the food processor, placed the mush in a mason jar, poured a little olive oil over to cover, and stored it tightly covered in the fridge to use a spoonful at a time. It might still smell a bit, so park it right next to the baking soda, and not next to the butter or anything else that might pick up the flavor. Hope this helps.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 11, 2002.

Ours is by Ekco, called "Best Results." It's aluminum with a plastic cleaning plate; heavy-duty! We eat *a lot* of garlic and while a finger or so has broken off the cleaning plate, the metal is still intact after heavy use. Not like the lightweight models befor it that all broke! I believe I got it either at Target or the grocery store.

-- Marcia in MT (marciabundi@myexcel.com), March 11, 2002.

The pampered chef sells a really good garlic press. It is not too expensive, or it wasnt when I bought mine.

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), March 11, 2002.

The Pampered Chef one is good. Made by Zyliss I believe and available under that name at ethnic food stores or good cookware shops. If you have some hand strength they can't be beat. My less strong friends peel the garlic first.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), March 11, 2002.

My favorite is the Susi brand. They are sold by Chef's Catalog, www.chefscatalog.com I don't use my garlic press much at all though as I find it much faster and easier to use my chef's knife. Just smack the clove with the side of the knife, pull off the skin, and then crush further with the side of the knife ( or chop, slice, ect.). You can mash the garlic down with a knife into as smooth a paste as you get from a garlic press. Add a small pinch of salt when mashing make it quicker and easier. It's almost as fast as a press and easier to clean.

-- Murray in ME (lkdmfarm@megalink.net), March 12, 2002.

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The Zyliss($15) is super nice but beware the model from Oxo -- it may look meaty, but I busted mine up in under two years with "normal" use (shattered, over-exerted hinge). Most presses mince garlic under the same basic principle, but if you want to use the entire clove (less the skin) the quickest way to achieve this just might be with a food chopper. Once again (although I hate to sound like their corporate whipping boy) Zyliss makes a product that might just do the trick -- see it here.

¥

-- Chris in Mich (chackbardt@industrialvac.com), March 12, 2002.

BOB I to have tried many of them. I have yet to see one hold up of course I may just be in to big of hurry, on my chuck wagon I use a lot of garlic I use my meat clever flat. Coaltrain

-- coaltrain (prairierose91@hotmail.com), March 12, 2002.

Top the clove with a knife, then skin it (takes only seconds). Then you can chop or smash, or better still smash then chop. Some people smash then skin - frees the skin up, but gets garlic juice on YOUR skin. If you're using enough garlic, then get a SOLID METAL press - wrought or forged is better, but cast will do. NO PLASTIC, NO PRESSED METAL. Don't overstress them: they are MADE to press down, they can't build a pressure limiter into a $2 gadget, buy solid stuff, then use your brain as the pressure limiter. And yes, they are made to press stuff - this implies some solid debris left behind - live with it - what you lose you can make up with an extra clove every ten or twenty, and you don't need THAT much garlic. There won't be much residual debris if you've skinned the clove first: if you really insist, you can scrape out the stuff and throw it in the food too. Not criticising garlic - more is better - but it's good enough and strong enough that you don't need to be a cheapskate about it.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 12, 2002.

I used to say, "If you're going to crush the garlic you should be able to crush the he.... out of it. " This was after breaking 3. Well, now I have an "scraper". It has one side that you slide the garlic up and down that mushes it, and one that will slice it. sort of like those things for making cole slaw. they sell them through frontier herbs for 2.80, or you can find them in different stores. I've have mine for years and everyone who uses it loves it, and most friends have replaced their garlic crusher with it.

-- marcee (thathope@mwt.net), March 12, 2002.