I Catch Up with the Mainstream

Nine years ago, back before either of my kids had even been imagines, and I had all the time in the world; in a post most notable for its grammatically-correct use of five punctuation marks in a row, I had indicated that I saw very rare use for a garlic press.

I stuck by my guns for quite some time, and have gotten quite adept at peeling and mincing garlic, but I am coming around to where the mainstream has been for quite some time: it really does make things quicker and easier to crush garlic with a press than it does to peel and slice by hand.

One thing I have discovered, though, is that rather than crush the garlic directly into the frying pan, it makes a lot more sense to crush into a prep bowl.  That way, you have all the time you need to crush (in my case, at least) a dozen or two cloves of garlic for whatever you’re cooking, without the first garlic into the pan burning before the last clove is crushed.

When it comes to garlic presses, though, I am on the quest for the best press.  Mine is fine, it does the job; but I feel like there might be a better option out there.  The brief research I have done so far shows a huge range of prices, from less than $5 to just about $45.  I checked Cooks Illustrated, hoping for a budget-friendly option, but they recommend a $40 model.  This seems like a steep investment, and so I hold out hope that there is a less-expensive but highly-functioning option out there somewhere.

Lacking the budget to buy and test all of them, please leave a comment to let me know if you have any recommendations (for or against) a particular brand, source, or style.  I’ll aim to identify a few different options and give them a whirl to see how my current model stacks up against others’ favorites.

Leave a Reply