How to Slice, Mince and Crush Garlic

posted in Spices and Seasonings by Kathy Maister

A small amount of garlic goes a long way.

Crushing or mincing garlic releases more essential oils than just slicing the garlic. The more oil released, the stronger the flavor. Cooked garlic has a much softer and sweeter flavor than raw garlic, which can have a bit of a bite if too much is used.

This is what sliced, minced and crushed garlic looks like.

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You need a garlic press to crush garlic. The price of a garlic press can range anywhere from a low of about $4.00 to a high of about $25.00. Mine was $8. Many of the expensive ones have nubs so that when you flip the press back on itself, it helps to clear the garlic out of the little holes. It's helpful but not essential.

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Put the peeled garlic into press.

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Close the press.

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Squeeze hard until all the garlic is pressed through.

A garlic press isn't useful for doing much but pressing garlic, but you'll be surprised at how much you use it. I think it's worth getting one!

When it comes to mincing or slicing a clove of garlic, first choose a knife you are comfortable using. For some people, it will be a small paring knife like this.

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Try to make the slices as thin as possible. (There are some movies where you see people slicing garlic with a razor blade to get the slices really thin!)

Once the garlic is sliced you can then mince it. Use a chopping motion with the knife, holding down the tip.

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You will need to carefully brush the garlic off your knife, as it tends to pile up on the knife as you continue to mince.

That's it! Stay tuned for Curing Garlic Breath!

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11 comments

Jon Sacker | posted on Sep 3, 2006

Kathy,
Kathy,

I’m so glad you mentioned the ‘slicing the garlic with a razor blade’ scene. If any of your readers don’t know it, it comes from that great Mafia film Goodfellas.

I’ve always wanted to be able to slice garlic that finely :-)

I’m so glad you mentioned the ‘slicing the garlic with a razor blade’ scene. If any of your readers don’t know it, it comes from that great Mafia film Goodfellas.

I’ve always wanted to be bale to slice garlic that finely :-)

Tom SW | posted on Nov 9, 2007

Garlic crushers are pointless. You can crush garlic very simply with a knife and maybe a bit of salt.

If you want to cut it very fine, forget the razor blade and just don't try and cut all the way through the clove - make lots and lots of cuts, shredding the top half so that when you turn it on its side and cut slices you end up with very fine specks of garlic (and about half the clove still intact).

Kathy Maister | posted on Nov 11, 2007

Hi Tom! A garlic press is great for someone just learning how to cook. You are right that, (once a beginner gets comfortable using a large knive,) crushing garlic with a knife is easy. It's really all about learning how to use knives properly!

me | posted on Nov 14, 2007

I just use a microplane. I haven't chopped or pressed garlic since.

It's easy and to the point. Just don't go too fast or you may cut your fingers. If the holes clog, just take a spoon and scoop up the garlic.

This works for me. You may be able to find one at "Lig Bots" for 3.00.

Kathy Maister | posted on Nov 14, 2007

I love using my microplane for lemon zest, ginger, and of course garlic. Everyone should keep in mind that the finer garlic is minced/crushed-the stronger the garlic flavor!

Michael | posted on Nov 18, 2007

How do you preserve crushed / minced garlic?

Kathy Maister | posted on Nov 18, 2007

There are several ways to store fresh garlic.

Freezing it is actually one option and storing it in oil is another option.

According to The Garlic Store:
"A word of caution: NEVER allow garlic in oil to sit at room temperature. It is a hotbed for botulism. Keep it refrigerated or frozen at all times."

Dave Dreyer | posted on Jan 7, 2008

Kathy,

I think some of the people commenting here are being unproductive.

I'm just learning how to cook and I find your website so useful.

It's hard to find resources, even online, for techniques like mincing garlic and it helps that it's visual.

Keep up the good work!

-Dave

Mayra | posted on Jan 7, 2008

Is there any way to avoid refrigerated minced garlic becoming green?

Mark | posted on May 7, 2008

re: Is there any way to avoid refrigerated minced garlic becoming green?

Not sure, pre processed garlic found in stores seems to have the problem solved but not sure how. Probably some sort of preservative, salt or citric acid I'm guessing.

I love fresh garlic but I always keep a jar of pre chopped garlic from the retail store handy also.

Depending where your from Derlea (www.derlea.com) or Christopher Ranch (www

.christopherranch.com) are two great pre processed garlic providers.

Derlea is Canadian, not sure if you'll find them in the states, Christopher Ranch is from California, they can be found all over the U.S and in some parts of Canada.

Kathy Maister | posted on May 12, 2008

If you use a lot of garlic, having it pre-chopped is a time saver. (I do understand that for the beginner cook Preparing Garlic (Video) can seem like a difficult task but with practice it is quite a simple maneuver.)

I have never found garlic from a jar that I like. But I recently bought Melissa Fresh Peeled Garlic and it is fantastic! The bag contains the equivalent of four bulbs of garlic. The great thing is that they are shrink-wrapped into little mini packages of four. I loved the convenience of having fresh garlic ready to go, and it seemed to last forever in the refrigerator.

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