How To Cook With Garlic If You Hate Mincing It

How you cook with garlic says a lot about your relationship with cooking in general, I think. Do you hate the flavour and tend to avoid it? Or use it so often you buy it in paste form in economy-sized tubs? (On either count, I am not here to judge.) Or perhaps your feelings are about one of the more divisive of kitchen techniques: mincing.

There are days when I’m happy to do the textbook definition of a mince; to put in the time to chop garlic down to a fine grain that distributes itself evenly through food without overpowering the dish while cooking. But, if I’m being honest, those days are becoming increasingly rare. More often than not, the stickiness and lingering smell gets to me. More often than not, minced garlic can take a hike, especially when there are so many other ways to cook with the bulb, some of which aren’t so rooted in traditional European cooking techniques.

Keep in mind that each of these methods will result in differing levels of potency. The more you break it down—especially through crushing rather than slicing—the stronger the garlic gets in smell and taste. Depending on your preferences this may not be a bad thing, but it might require adjusting how much you use.

Press it

Garlic presses have a tendency to send professional and home cooks alike into either a murderous rage or passionate defence. Naysayers insist it makes garlic taste tinny (and if you’re using a press made with an uncoated reactive metal, there’s some truth to that), that it creates a lot of waste, and that they’re a pain to clean. To that I say: get a proper press, and know when to use it. A good press can save you time and ensure an even consistency, especially for recipes that call for a lot of cloves. But maybe skip this method if you’re cooking it on very high heat, as pressed garlic has a low threshold for burning.

Grate it

Using a fine grater, especially a Microplane, is hands-down the fastest way to break a couple of cloves down to a fine paste. While it does get a little sticky, it’s worth the time saved. A warning, though: this method produces a fairly potent result, possibly the strongest of all the methods listed here. If grating, you might want to reduce the number of cloves you’re cooking with—and it's not especially well suited to something that calls for raw garlic, like an aioli or tzatziki.

Pound it

A couple of crushed cloves, some salt, and a mortar and pestle: work out your anxiety with a therapeutically repetitive way to break down garlic and still keep your hands clean. In terms of intensity, the result is about as strong as pressed garlic, and it has the added benefit of allowing you to incorporate other seasonings into your paste while you’re at it.

Crush-and-fry

Frying some smashed in a bit of cooking oil on low heat until they’re golden and slightly crispy gives you the gift of two options: creamy, mellow garlic ready to be mashed into any sauce, salad, or raw preparation you want, and infused oil to use as you like. While this method takes some time, we also have a shortcut recipe that involves sliced cloves.

Roast it

If your dish calls for raw garlic, but you’re not a fan, try roasting it instead. Preheat an oven to 400F, drizzle a couple of garlic heads with the tops sliced off in olive oil, and wrap in foil. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 50 minutes, and let cool. Then, squeeze the bottoms of the heads to release the cloves, and use as the recipe directs. (We especially love it stirred into mashed potatoes.)

Just use the jar

Clutch your pearls if you must, but honestly? The packaged stuff is just fine—especially if it would otherwise mean skipping garlic entirely or not cooking the dish at all. Pre-minced garlic or garlic paste is an essential pantry ingredient for plenty of home cooks with disabilities, and handy if you're extremely crunched for time. That said, there are some ways to maximize how you use it. Garlic begins to deteriorate from the moment it's cut, which means you'll want to opt for brands that package with oil and buy it in sizes consistent with how frequently you'll use it. A club-sized tub of pre-mince is going to be basically flavourless by the bottom of the container; consider smaller amounts, or freezing it into separate little cubes that can be thawed when needed. (You can also do this with fresh garlic!)