Cooking Tips: How to easily peel Garlic Cloves

Often for people who are new to cooking peeling garlic becomes a rather difficult and messy task. I had a first hand expereince of that when I started cooking long time ago. The shell of the clove doesn’t come away without a significant amount of scraping, usually with my fingernails and I usually ended up getting chunks stuck in my nails and my fingers used to stink of garlic for a long time.

Not any more!. There are a couple of simple and easy ways to peel garlic cloves. If your recipe requires that the garlic must be chopped or minced or crushed then the easiest way to peel it is to use a chefs knife or a knife that is a little wide on its sides.

First, pick off your cloves from the bulb, and lay the flat side down. Then, take your chef's knife and with one hand holding the knife handle, lay either flat side of the knife on top of the garlic clove. The garlic should be closer to the knife handle than the center of the blade. With your free hand, slap the heel of your hand down and smash (no too hard though) the side of the blade against the garlic clove. And that's it. The outer skin would have magically detached from the clove, and you now have a perfectly peeled clove ready for chopping.

If your recipe requires that the garlic cloves be used has a whole, then just soak the cloves in cold water for 10-20 minutes. The peel slips off easily, leaving the whole clove intact.