Garlic Press

Garlic is a staple ingredient in most cuisines, although it’s certainly more popular in some than others – Italians, for instance, are known for using garlic in just about everything, from pasta to pizza.

Now, depending on what you plan on doing with it and how you intend on cooking with it, garlic can be handled in different ways. But, generally speaking, it needs to be peeled (to get rid of the hard outer layer) – from there, you can chop it up (a process known as mincing) or press it.

Now, if you’re somebody who’s used to working with garlic, you’ll know the pain of having to painstakingly chop up garlic – sometimes, it can take forever, especially if you want it to be nice and fine, and it can be difficult to be consistent Because, let’s be honest, there’s nothing worse than coming across a massive chunk of garlic in your food!

Well, a garlic press is a great solution to this problem – it’s a basic tool, it’s easy to use, and it’s super effective.

Before you browse our selection of products, we’re going to explain exactly how a garlic press works, what it may be made from, and a few garlic press uses that may not know of.

How a Garlic Press Works

The aim of chopping up, or mincing, garlic is to get it to a point where it’s chopped into fine bits and it ends up as a paste – it’s often mixed with olive oil to achieve this consistency. In order for this to work, the garlic needs to be chopped finely so that it’s not uneven – if you don’t manage this, it can end up being unpleasantly chunky.

Now, a garlic press comes in at this point. Instead of having to chop it up or mince it yourself, you simply peel the garlic clove and pop the whole clove into the press. Close the press slowly and with pressure, and the clove will be squeezed through the little holes. In the end, you’ll be left with pressed garlic that you can add to some olive oil or you can cook with directly.

There are a few different types – an ordinary garlic press or a rocking garlic press – the latter is  more of a masher and tends to be a bit more versatile.

Garlic Press Uses

Some garlic presses are designed solely for pressing peeled cloves of garlic. However, there are other versions that are more versatile – they’re often referred to more as mashers. They tend to include a peeling tool, and they can also be used for mashing other herbs like ginger.

In fact, most garlic presses - whether it’s a stainless steel garlic press, one made from zinc alloy or just about anything else – can be used to press and mash other ingredients too, as long as they’re not any harder than garlic cloves.

Now that you know what it is, how it works, and what you can use it for, shop our selection of products and find the best garlic press for your kitchen today.