What’s your thoughts on a garlic press?

Press crushes it as well which releases oils. Fine mincing does not.

The effect of releasing the oils? Ask someone else.

I can only assume you lose a lot of the oils when you crush the garlic, which is where your flavor comes from. Also, there is probably something with the Maillard reaction when you introduce oil filled garlic vs. press.

I have 2 that I only discovered this week. Needless to say I don’t use it. Not because of the above, but because I prefer to chop my own vegetables and herbs. Just part of the cooking process I like.

All the ones I've bought were crap.
Either they break or the little plunger doesn't go far enough in and it leaves like half a clove inside.

I can tell you that nothing gets as strong a flavor as using a mortar and pestle. If you grind your garlic into a paste it will give the strongest flavor possible.

The old Serious Eats bulletin board had a discussion on this. Thoughts varied from tradition, uni-tasker, snobbery, or even impact on flavor.

One pro chef said: "It really is a matter of choice and style, I have had coworkers who would insist upon using a press, and others a food processor, and an equal number who would just smash it with knife or pan."

Why don't professional chefs use a garlic press?


Daniel Gritzer at SE did a comparison on how mincing/smashing/zesting affected flavor. The more cell walls broken down, the more pungent the raw garlic. Zesting with a microplane really lit it up. Sometimes you may want that; other times not.

Gentle cooking led to these results:

Knife-Minced: Once again mild, with little bits of chewable garlic that are tender and sweet.

Garlic Press: Stronger overall flavor than the knife minced, with a medium burn in the throat. It's a little sweet but also a little harsh.

Mortar and Pestle: Quite sweet with tender mashed chunks. Pretty tasty, with a very mild burn that sets in late in the back of the mouth.

Knife Pureed: The baby bear—neither too sweet nor too harsh, too mild nor too strong.

Microplane: The burn sets in faster than the others, with a slightly acrid taste, but not nearly as bad as raw. Unpleasant bitter aftertaste hangs in the mouth, but it's not severe.

Longer cooking like in a stew reduced them all to a "single mellow garlic base note, regardless of preparation method."

The Best Way to Mince Garlic

bitch to clean

I’m on team garlic press. Use mine all the time. What in the hell are people finding so hard about cleaning them? You can clean a dirty one in 10 seconds.

I chop up so much garlic for various big pot meals (I am talking huge braising pot preparations) that I virtually glue my hands together with the garlic residue. That’s when you know you’re doing it right.