In Fact, Garlic Presses Are Good.
People love to hate garlic presses. Anthony Bourdain hated them. Alton Brown hates them. Epicurious’s Anya Hoffman hates them. Each of these people have good reasons to hate this particular kitchen tool, but that doesn’t mean you should hate the garlic press.
If you cook a lot or read a lot of words written by people who cook a lot, you will find that most of these people disagree with each other on at least a few, if not many, things. A lot of these disagreements boil down to preferences and opinions , so it’s always good to try a bunch of different methods and a few different tools until you find one that works for you. There are often multiple ways to achieve the same delicious result, and treating the words of any culinary professional as the general gospel will limit your education and ultimately get in your way.
The alleged crimes of the garlic press are numerous: they grind the garlic too finely, they are difficult to peel, they only do one thing, and they do the same thing as the microplan. All of these statements are at least partially true, but if you understand how garlic and how it reacts to cutting, chopping, and heating, your cooking will not be affected.
I have always been quite ambivalent about the garlic press, and at the moment I do not have strong emotions about this. I bought one when I first started cooking, but gave up when I learned to use a knife. Now I have it again, and I sometimes use it. He does exactly what he is supposed to do.
One of the biggest complaints about the garlic press is that the chunks coming out of it are too small, and they are certainly suitable for some applications. I would never subject garlic obtained from the press to hot frying, because tiny pieces are more likely to burn, and small pungent pieces of burnt garlic can make an entire dish taste rough. If you are cooking a dish that requires a lot of garlic and you want to crush it down, you can reduce the amount by a few cloves. Pressed garlic actually tastes stronger than anything chopped with a knife, and you can overpower the dish if you’re not careful. (However, “it’s too garlic” is not something anyone has ever said about my cooking, even when I added a few wedges of the pressed product.)
The minced, almost pressed, pungent garlic that comes out of the press has its uses, and most of it is quite savory. I use minced garlic in my vinaigrette, yogurt and butter sauces, tomato stews, and any other dressing, soups, or sauces that need a clean burst of pungent garlic heat. It mixes well and imparts a pungent garlic flavor, which is good in my opinion. Until it comes into contact with a very hot pan, it will not burn.
I like to add a wedge of raw compressed garlic to the marinara in addition to the wedges I fry in the beginning. The pressed material doesn’t brown among the smoldering tomatoes, but it does get soft and sweetened, adding another garlic flavor to my sauce. I also love to squeeze cloves into hot soup just before consuming to relieve the symptoms of a nasty cold – it won’t cure me, but it will clear my sinuses for a few lovely moments.
And yes, garlic presses are a “versatile tool,” but also my vintage espresso maker, my caviar spoon, and my pebble ice maker. The great thing about being an adult is that you can put whatever you want in the drawers in the kitchen, even if they only do one thing, and even if Alton Brown doesn’t want you to do it. Can you “just use a microplane” and get garlic that looks like what comes out of a garlic press? Yes, but you can also “rub your fingertips” if you’re not careful.
In terms of cleaning, they are inconvenient to clean by hand, so mine can be washed in the dishwasher. It also helps to rinse out the garlic press right after use so that the sticky garlic doesn’t have time to harden on the metal, but even if you forget, the dishwasher will handle all the debris just fine.
You can, of course, hate the garlic press and continue to work each clove with a knife or microplane. But you may also love the garlic press. Any tool that helps you cook, do it more, and cook with a lot of garlic is a good tool, no matter who doesn’t care about it yet.