Recipes, guides and kitchen know-how. Mostly useful, occasionally silly.
Garlic Peeler - Naked Cloves in Ten Seconds (No Fingernails Harmed)
Pop one to three cloves in the silicone tube, press down and roll it on the worktop for a few seconds, then tip out naked cloves. Keep peeled ones in a sealed tub in the fridge, or freeze them.
Peeling garlic is the worst job in the kitchen.
Worse than descaling the kettle. Worse than finding the end of the cling film.
Papery skin under every fingernail, one clove that simply refuses to let go, and a smell that follows you round like a needy cat.
So let's talk about the little green tube that ends all of that. It's the best thing in the box that nobody asks about.
Wait, what's the green thing?
Every one of our garlic presses comes with a free garlic peeler tucked in the box. Technically it's a silicone garlic peeler. Practically, it's a short, bendy green tube about the size of a fat cigar.
We know some of you have been wondering. One lovely customer left a review asking, and we quote, "what is the green thingy?"
That, dear reader, is the green thingy. And it's about to change your teatime.
How the tube works
Garlic skin isn't actually stuck to the clove very hard. It's just clingy, like a toddler at a nursery gate.
The soft silicone grips the papery skin. When you roll the tube under your hand, it pushes and twists the skin in every direction at once until it gives up and lets go.
The clove inside is firm and smooth, so it slides about and comes out naked, whole and unbruised. Which is more than you can say for the knife method.
Using it, step by step
- Snap off your cloves. Break the bulb apart. If the hard little root end is chunky, slice it off - the skins come away even quicker.
- Pop one to three cloves in the tube. Don't stuff it. They need a bit of room to tumble about.
- Lay it on the worktop and roll it. Press down firmly with your flat palm and roll it back and forth, about five to ten seconds. Firm, like you're rolling out pastry you're cross with.
- Tip it up. Out fall the peeled cloves, followed by a little shower of skins.
- Stubborn one? Put it back in and give it another few rolls.
That's it. No knife, no picking, and your fingers hardly touch the garlic. Rinse the tube under the tap, shake it dry, and it's ready for next time.
Press harder than you think. A gentle roll just gives the garlic a nice massage. You want proper pressure through your palm so the silicone really grips the skin. If it's not working, you're being too polite.
Is it really the easiest?
We've tried every trick going. Here's the honest league table for the easy way to peel garlic.
- The silicone tube. Five to ten seconds, cloves stay whole, no mess. The clear winner, and we're not even slightly biased. Okay, slightly.
- The knife thump. Lay the flat of a big knife on the clove and whack it with your palm. Quick, but it bruises the clove, so it's only good if you're chopping it straight away.
- The jar shake. Cloves in a jar, lid on, shake hard for twenty seconds. Fine for a whole bulb, but loud enough to wake the dog.
- The warm water soak. Five minutes in warm water softens the skins. Handy for very fresh, clingy garlic, but it's slow.
- Fingernails. Still the most popular method in Britain. Still the worst.
As for every garlic peeling hack doing the rounds online, the microwave one included? We'd skip that one. Zapping cloves warms them through and starts to cook them before they've even met a pan.
Do you even need to peel it?
Not always.
If the garlic's going in a press, you can leave the skin on. Pop the whole clove in, squeeze, and the skin stays behind in the press while the good stuff comes out of the holes.
That's exactly why the peeler lives in the same box as our garlic press, the one with the green bonus inside. Peeled cloves for slicing and roasting. Skins on for crushing. Between them, your fingernails are officially retired.
Once they're peeled, here's what to do with them next, knife, grater or press, plus how to stop your hands smelling of it all week.
And if you've got a whole bulb's worth to get through, there's always the one-pot dinner that uses forty at once. Skins on for that one, mind.
Peeled a whole bulb? Keep it fresh
The tube is so quick you'll get carried away. Everyone does. So here's how to store peeled garlic without it going sad and yellow.
- In the fridge. Pop the cloves in an airtight container - that also stops your butter tasting of garlic. Use them within a few days.
- Not in the cupboard. Once the skin's off, peeled cloves dry out and go soft or mouldy quickly at room temperature.
- Unpeeled bulbs are the opposite. They like it cool, dark, dry and airy, in a basket or paper bag - not the fridge.
Can you freeze peeled garlic?
Yes, and it's brilliant for busy weeknights.
- Whole cloves: spread them out on a tray, freeze until solid, then tip them into a freezer bag. They won't stick together.
- Crushed: press the cloves, mix with a splash of water, and spoon into an ice cube tray with a lid. Pop out a cube whenever a recipe says "one clove".
You can cook with it straight from frozen - just drop it in the pan. It goes a bit soft once it thaws, so it's best for cooking rather than eating raw. Nobody wants a soggy garlic bread.
Looking after your peeler
- Rinse it straight after use and give it a shake. The odd bit of skin flicks out easily under the tap.
- Let it dry before you put it away, so nothing gets musty.
- Keep it with the press. It's small and green and it will wander off into the cutlery drawer of no return if you let it.
If it goes wrong
Cloves come out still dressed? Not enough pressure, or too many cloves in the tube at once.
Fix: go for two cloves at a time and press down properly through your palm. Another few rolls usually does it.
Skins cling on no matter what? Very fresh garlic has damp, sticky skins.
Fix: soak the cloves in warm water for five minutes first, pat them dry, then roll. Or skip the peeling and use the press skins and all.
Peeled cloves gone yellow and rubbery in the fridge? They've been in there too long, or weren't covered.
Fix: only peel what you'll use in the next few days, keep them in a sealed tub, and freeze the rest.
Can't find the peeler? Check the cutlery drawer. Then check it again.
Fix: keep it tucked inside the press handles or in the same pot. It's a team. Don't split up the band.
That little green tube costs you nothing and saves you a lifetime of picking at garlic.
Now go and cook something. Your fingernails will thank you.
