Garlic Presses Are A Waste Of Money. Here's Why
People who really love garlic know there are a few rules. For example, pre-minced garlic is never as good as fresh (via My Recipes). But there's another rule you might not be familiar with, and that's avoiding garlic presses. While some naturally gravitate towards the kitchen tool, others already stay clear of it. As it turns out, the garlic press causes the garlic to take on more than one bad characteristic, and you might pay for it in your dish.
The two biggest ways garlic impacts an entree, are the texture and the level of garlicky flavor the cloves add. Whether you love or tolerate garlic, the intensity of the flavor can be a big factor in how much garlic is used and how the garlic is prepared for a dish. When you use a garlic press, it can actually make the garlic taste more intense, and not in a good way (via Delish). In fact, Serious Eats taste-tested several types of prepared garlic, and when they tried pressed garlic, it was described as "farty." That's why Epicurious suggests you prep garlic in a way that aligns with the amount of aromatic garlic flavor you want in the dish.
Garlic presses waste the best parts of garlic cloves
Another reason garlic presses are far from the best means of preparing garlic is that they produce uneven curls of mashed garlic (via Delish). In addition to those curls burning quickly, they can cook unevenly. The garlic press also causes the liquid in the garlic to spray out, which often means it isn't leaking out into your dish. The garlic liquid is what allows the garlic to infuse into the food. Essentially, the kitchen tool strips the garlic of its best qualities and puts the worst ones into your dish. Garlic presses are also a huge pain to clean due to all of those tiny holes, and they don't save much time at all. A sharp knife can make quick work of mincing garlic and is much easier to clean up afterward.
For the best use of garlic, use it whole, sliced, minced or mashed into an even paste. All of these are simply a matter of knife skills and cuts. To make an even paste, all you have to do is finely mince the garlic before using the broad side of the knife's blade to drag the garlic across the cutting board, slowly mashing it into a perfect paste. You can even use a microplane to get better results than a garlic press, according to Serious Eats. So, don't waste your money on another one-purpose gadget when you can simply use a knife.