FOOD NEWS
10 Mistakes To Stop Making With Your Garlic Press
BY DEB KAVIS
Doing It Dry
Adding a bit of cooking oil to your press’ cup or well before loading the garlic helps lubricate it, making your job easier and keeping the tool in tip-top shape.
Peeling The Cloves
As long as you separate the clove from the bulb, you can load it unpeeled into your press. This will peel the garlic for you, allowing its goodness to spew forth.
Peeled garlic can get sticky when crushed, so keeping the skin on will help with the cleanliness and non-stick aspect of using a press. Be sure to clean the tool before each use.
Not Pre-Mincing
For future use, store minced garlic in an airtight jar with some oil. It’ll last a year in the freezer or a week in the fridge without losing much flavor or texture.
Chopping First
As long as you chop off the stems of the cloves, chopping the cloves before mincing is pointless. To avoid wasting the garlic oil or allicin, mince the cloves whole.
Cleanup
To keep dried up garlic from ending up in your meal or infesting every crevice and making your press difficult to use, ensure you don’t postpone the cleanup.
It’s best to clean a garlic press using a toothbrush and a toothpick, which will help dislodge any extra tiny pieces. Skip the dishwasher, and hand wash with warm water instead.