If you’re like me, you use garlic in just about every recipe that comes out of your farmhouse kitchen. However, after a long day at the office and work in the garden, I often don’t want to hassle with peeling a bunch of garlic cloves, so I forgo the fresh stuff and head straight for the garlic powder. Thanks to the kitchen hack I’m about to share with you, I’ll never have to choose between time and freshness again.
Using this simple technique, you can peel one clove or 40 in a matter of seconds. Break apart the cloves from the head of garlic, and place them in a metal kitchen bowl. Invert a second kitchen bowl over the first one containing the garlic cloves, so that it creates a closed compartment. Holding the bowls together, violently shake the bowls for 20 to 30 seconds.
When you pull the bowls apart, your garlic should be peeled and ready for mincing, dicing or roasting whole. It’s that simple. If you still see a few cloves that need peeling, reassemble the bowls and shake again.
Here’s a video that demonstrates it:
Granted, this technique works best if you have many cloves to peel. For one or two cloves, you can use my other favorite technique: the flat knife trick. Using the side of a chef’s knife, pound a clove of garlic. The skin will easily slide off the crushed clove.
If you sell garlic at a farmers market or other venue, you can share these techniques with your customers, who are often eager for cooking tips or advice on how to use what they buy from you in ways they’d not considered.
When it comes to cooking, it’s important to be efficient without sacrificing quality. These tricks can help you do just that.
