I hate peeling garlic. Always have.
Giada may be able to turn the act into a sensual experience, commanding the garlic to magically perform a striptease by fondling the head of garlic, inhaling its aroma, and teasing the obedient cloves with a swift whack of her knife. She’s left with beautiful cloves of intact garlic and that satisfied smile on her face.
Me? I can’t get no satisfaction. I try, and I try, and I try, but I somehow always end up chasing coy cloves across the kitchen counter with the flat side of my chef’s knife before I eventually manage to smash the pesky garlic into unsightly submission. I’ve tried soaking the cloves, boiling the cloves, even shaking the cloves between two stainless steel bowls, working my upper arms into wobbly exhaustion, yet I still end up with garlic beneath my nails as I grasp at the airborne peels wafting through my kitchen. Don’t believe me? I have the resulting unfit-for-company cloves to prove it.
I suppose I could instead stomp on the cloves, but knowing me I’d leave a trail of peels dragging from the heel of my Blahniks, like errant strips of toilet paper picked up in the ladies’ room, which someone would no doubt catch on their iPhone, and then I’d be on YouTube forever flaunting my personal approach to peeling garlic. In a fit of pique, I’ve even bought bags of pre-peeled garlic, hidden beneath 20-pound bags of strategically tossed dog food in my shopping cart. (The fact that I own a nine-pound dog ought to tell both you and me that this is sheer desperation.)
Did I mention that I hate peeling garlic?
Until now. My new favorite kitchen purchase costs mere pocket change and has changed my life. It’s the OXO Good Grips Garlic Peeler. Toss in a few cloves of garlic, give it a quick roll on the counter, and out pop perfectly smooth, naked garlic specimens. Unlike rigid plastic sleeves that profess to do the same, the silicon sheath molds perfectly to the contours of your hand, which allows it to hold captive all those pesky skins and lingering whiffs of garlic. Talk about a good grip. Throw it in the dishwasher, and it’s once more ready for action. Not needed right now? It stores in its own handy, portable, vented case.
I love peeling garlic. Forty cloves, you say? No problem.
The OXO Good Grips Garlic Peeler is available in lurid green or calming clear silicone pretty much wherever kitchen gadgets are sold—yes, including Amazon—for the low, low price of $9.85. Hey, it’s less expensive than therapy.
I’ll share my magic way of peeling garlic. Take one of those thin rubber jar openers, place a few cloves of garlic on it, roll up & roll on counter. It works great. Mine was free – the bank gives them away.
I’m glad that worked for you, Martha. I wished it worked for me. When I tried my rubber thingee (mine was from a local real estate firm), my garlic cloves shot across the kitchen and ricocheted off the refrigerator. Can you tell that I am garlic challenged? With this lovely little gadget, they are held hostage.
[shakes head] Only you, dear Dorothy. Only you.