Favorite Kitchen Tools: The Garlic Press

Introducing a new post series here at Full of Beans: Kitchen Gadget of the Week. We will be sharing the various tools that we use, what we use them for, and why we like the particular one we are sharing. First up is the garlic press!

What it Does and Why We Like It

The garlic press is a very simple kitchen gadget. It enables you to take a whole garlic clove (or several) and mash them through sort of a screen. Pressing the garlic through the screen, or holes, takes the place of finely chopping the cloves. For many of us that means faster and safer.  There are many versions of the garlic press but almost all of them share the same fault: they are a little fussy to clean out the bits of garlic from inside the press.

The ease of cleaning is what we really like this particular garlic press. It’s unique, clever, design opens up completely so that it can be thoroughly and easily cleaned. Thats a big win, in our opinion. Plus, it has nice grippy handles for a secure grip when your hands are a little wet, or perhaps oily, which happens frequently while preparing a meal.

What is Our Fav Recipe to Use This For?

A basic veggie sauté of greens and such is a common situation where we use a press. We also have several recipes that call for minced garlic and, often, we simply use the garlic press in the interest of time. Its so easy!

But here is one of our favorites:

Spicy Sesame Noodles – Creamy, Fast, Asian-inspired

Where Can You Get It?

You can find garlic presses at pretty much any store that sells kitchen items or big list of them at Amazon. But this fabulous one that we use comes from IKEA and is available on their website (or an IKEA store near you). Are you ready for a garlic press that’s easy to clean and use? Let us know!