Ina Garten's Clever Trick For Peeling Garlic
When it comes to garlic, people can't seem to get enough of it. Perhaps it's to keep the vampires away, or because of its many health benefits (via Healthline), but we would argue it's the flavor it brings to many dishes. On Twitter, one user posed the question, "Anyone else use double the amount of garlic any recipe recommends?" to which another user responded with "Triple."
Food Network star Ina Garten uses a lot, as in an "unbelievable amount," of garlic in her recipe for Penne Arrabiata (via SheKnows). Known as "angry pasta" where chili pepper flakes give the sauce its "signature" heat (per RAWSPICEBAR), a traditional recipe might call for one garlic clove, but Garten's garlic count comes in at an astonishing 24 cloves. Yet, that's nothing compared to her recipe for chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.
Whether you like to double or triple the amount of garlic in any recipe, you'll want to know about the Barefoot Contessa's clever hack for peeling garlic.
Try blanching the garlic before peeling
The job of peeling garlic can be a literal chore with many techniques out there to help make things easier like avoiding the work altogether by buying garlic "pre-peeled."
About 30-seconds into a Food Network video posted on YouTube, even Garten admits "nobody wants to peel 24 cloves of garlic" and applies a technique called "blanching" to assist with the task. Blanching is where food is placed in boiling water "for a brief period and then quickly placed in ice water" to stop the cooking process while preserving the flavor and vitamins of the ingredient (per Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics).
Despite not being a formally trained chef herself (via Business Insider India), the technique is something "every chef who's been through culinary school" would know (via PJP). The savvy cook and author has adapted the method in her kitchen and takes it one step further. After boiling the cloves in water for "about 15 seconds," Garten reaches for a paring knife to apply added leverage where the "skins slip right off."
If you can't be bothered with the blanching process, try this fast method for peeling garlic instead.