Garlic is a staple seasoning in the kitchen, whether you enjoy making homemade garlic bread, sauces, pasta dishes, salad dressings, meat dishes, or an endless variety of other recipes. But chopping and slicing garlic cloves can be a tedious process. The garlic press is your solution to achieving fresh garlicky flavor that no store-bought minced garlic could ever replicate. Keep reading to learn more about this valuable kitchen gadget and how to use a garlic press for quick, flavorful results.

What Is a Garlic Press?
How to Use a Garlic Press

What Is a Garlic Press?

A garlic press or garlic crusher is an innovative kitchen tool that allows you to mince garlic quickly and easily. The result is unbeatable freshness and no garlic smell on your hands! Garlic presses come in a range of designs, but they typically consist of two handles joined together at a central point. The top handle is attached to the pressing mechanism (sometimes called a plunger) that helps put pressure on the garlic clove and forces it through the holes in the press chamber (sometimes called the bowl or hopper). The bottom handle is attached to the press chamber. The press chamber has holes located on its underside, which helps create fine minced garlic as the clove is pressed through.

How to Use a Garlic Press

Using a garlic press is super easy and time-saving. Follow these steps to learn how to press garlic in a garlic press.

1. Separate Garlic Cloves

Before you break out the garlic press, you first need to break apart the garlic bulb to reveal the individual cloves inside. You can easily separate the garlic bulb by pressing down on the center with the palm of your hand. Whether or not to peel the garlic cloves before placing them in the press chamber is widely debated. It really comes down to your preference and time constraints. If you keep the shells on the garlic cloves it won't affect the result, but it might take more time to get the shell out of the press chamber, and you may not get all of the garlic out of the shell.

2. Choose Your Press Method

Before learning how to use a garlic press, you first need to choose your desired press method. Method #1 is the most traditional and common pressing method. It consists of two handles that you press together to put pressure on the garlic clove in the chamber and squeeze out the minced garlic. Method #2 is a workaround for the squeeze method that requires less hand strength. It also has two handles, but instead, the top handle turns back and forth, mincing the garlic inside the press chamber. Method #3 is sometimes called a garlic rocker. You rock it back and forth on top of the garlic clove to achieve minced garlic.

3. Position a Plate or Bowl Close By

Unless you plan to press minced garlic right into sauce pans or on top of meat dishes, you'll want to have a plate or bowl at-the-ready. The minced garlic will come out fast, so you want to be prepared!

4. Put Cloves in the Press Chamber

Garlic presses are usually designed to press one clove of garlic at a time. However, you may be able to fit more than one clove inside depending on the size of the press chamber and the size of the cloves themselves. There is no right or wrong way to position a garlic clove in the press chamber. If the garlic clove is bigger than the chamber you can still press it but you might just have to reposition the clove once you successfully mince a portion of it to ensure the entire clove gets through.

5. Squeeze Down on the Garlic Press Handles

Now for the fun part! With the garlic clove in the press chamber, you can start mincing your garlic. You may only have to use one hand to squeeze both handles together, but you can also use both hands for more control. Place your fingers under the bottom handle and your thumb on the top handle for the best results. Then squeeze the handles together and watch the magic happen!

This step will look slightly different if you plan to use the turning press method or the garlic rocker.

Turning Press Method: For the turning press method (method #2 listed in step two), you place the top handle and plunger mechanism on top of the garlic clove in the press chamber. Press down until you hear a click or until it locks into place. Hold onto the bottom handle to keep the tool steady as you turn the top handle back and forth to press and mince the garlic.

Garlic Rocker Method: For garlic rockers (method #3 listed in step two), you want to grip the handle of the garlic rocker and press down directly on top of the garlic clove. Then follow the natural curvature of the garlic rocker and move the tool back and forth to properly mince the entire clove.

6. Scrape Excess Minced Garlic From the Tool

Take a knife or another kitchen utensil and scrape the remaining minced garlic off of the tool and onto the plate (or into the dish) with the rest of the minced garlic. You don't want any garlic to go to waste! You can also use your finger (if you don't mind the garlic smell) as the holes in the press chamber aren't sharp. Some garlic presses come with a special tool to help remove minced garlic from the underside and interior of the press chamber.

7. Repeat Until You Have the Desired Amount of Minced Garlic

Planning to mince multiple cloves in one go? Then there's no need to stop and clean the press chamber! Once you complete your first press, just pop in another clove and continue pressing. This will also help free any minced garlic stuck in the holes from the previous clove.

Tip!

With a better understanding of garlic press uses, here are some tasty recipes that call for minced garlic:
3 One-Pot Meals Your Pickiest Guests Will Love
Homemade Pizza Knots
Slow Cooker Chicken Pasta Recipe
Warm Eggplant & Mushroom Pasta Salad
Linguine With Clams
Soy-Sesame Grilled Fish

You Might Also Like:

Get browsing to press garlic like a pro!