And sure, there are store-bought shortcuts. You can buy loose cloves instead of whole heads or even pre-peeled garlic if convenience is the goal—though flavor purists have strong opinions. As for jarlic, the already-chopped stuff in a jar soaking in citric acid? I won’t even mention it. (I know I just did, but I won’t use it.) Most of us end up at the cutting board with a whole bulb anyway, because it’s cheaper, fresher and undeniably better.Over the years, I’ve heard every promise imaginable: Just smash it, soak it, shake it, microwave it, just buy this gadget and your problems will disappear forever. Some of these tips sound genuinely clever—others feel like dares someone lost in a test kitchen. And yet, every time I’m at my cutting board surrounded by garlic skins, I find myself wondering: Is there a better way?So, I decided to stop guessing, stop half-believing internet “wisdom,” and put 10 methods to the test to learn how to peel garlic fast. I worked my way through dozens and dozens of cloves, then ranked these tricks worst to best. Here's how everything shook out.Related: This 50 Garlic Clove Pasta Is Going Viral—After Trying It, I Can See Why?? SIGN UP to get delicious recipes, handy kitchen hacks & more in our daily Parade Eats newsletter. ??
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How I Tested These Garlic-Peeling Methods
Courtesy Jo Ann Liguori
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10 Garlic-Peeling Hacks, Ranked Worst To Best
Here are the results, ranked from worst (barely worth the effort) to best (the ones that made me wonder why I’ve ever bothered peeling garlic any other way).
10. Microwave
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A brief zap (about 10 seconds) in the microwave causes steam to build under the skin, separating it from the clove. And it works: The peel slides right off. The downside? Heat. You’re partially cooking the garlic, which can affect flavor and texture if you need it raw, which I often do. Because of the way the quick cooking impacted the garlic, this was a hard pass for me.
9. Hand crush
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This method has you press down hard on the clove with the heel of your palm until you feel the skin crack. It’s quick, tool-free and surprisingly effective if you get the pressure right. The problem is finding that sweet spot: too light and nothing happens; too hard and you’ve smashed the clove. I struggled with consistency; maybe someone with bigger, stronger hands would have better luck.
8. Stab with a knife
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7. Cut the root, then roll
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Food blogger Lauren Casolaro’s method involves cutting off the root end, keeping the knife in place, and rolling the clove away from its skin. When I tried it, the skin on the bottom of the clove peeled off on its own, but I had to peel off the rest by hand. I didn’t find this to be a time-saver, and everything (the board, my fingers, the knife) ended up sticky anyway.
6. Soak in water
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5. Use a silicone garlic peeler tube
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I was curious to know how a garlic-specific gadget might fare, so I picked up this popular tool. You drop a clove inside the tube, press down, roll it firmly on the cutting board—and the skin separates cleanly. It’s not lightning-fast (you can only do a clove or two at a time), but it’s tidy, reliable and keeps that garlic smell off your hands. Downsides: You’ve really got to exert pressure for it to work well. Also, you’ve got to ask yourself whether you need another single-use gadget taking up drawer space, plus you’ve got something else to clean.
4. Trim both ends first
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If you want neat slices rather than crushed garlic, trimming the root end can help release the skin. Mangini says, “Trim the root end of the garlic, then lightly dig a paring knife just under the skin to carefully release it.” This creates entry points where you can peel from both sides rather than fight the middle. This is easy and pretty effective, but you’re adding knife work before you even start peeling, and the skins don’t always cooperate. Also, it’s wasteful, as you’re sacrificing the pieces of actual garlic at the ends.
3. Blanch
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This is a trick for bulk prep that even Ina Garten endorses. Boil water, drop the cloves in for 15 seconds, then plunge them into an ice bath (15 seconds). The skins slide off effortlessly, leaving the cloves intact. I found it to be a really good way to peel a lot of garlic quickly. Even though this method and nuking it both involve heating the garlic to some extent, I didn't find that blanching affected the texture at all (though zapping it in the microwave definitely did).Drawback: You've got to take the time to boil the water and prepare an ice bath and dry off the garlic before continuing with the recipe. The setup time could be worth it, though, depending on the volume of garlic you're working with.
2. Shake between two bowls
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Thomas Perone, the chef/owner of Brooklyn Roots Italian and The Corner in Brooklyn, NY, agrees: “I love the bowl trick,” he says. Bonus? The mess is self-contained: All the peels stay in the bowl.I also tried a variation of this: shaking the garlic in a glass jar. It was slower and less effective; the glass cushions the cloves, limiting their movement. So, there’s more shaking for less payoff.This method is a quick way to process a pile of garlic. The only downside is that you're dirtying two bowls. It might not be a go-to way for prepping a few cloves, but it's definitely a solid technique and can also help you release some tension if things are getting heated in the kitchen.
1. Smash with a chef’s knife
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After all this testing, I’m feeling pretty vindicated in my loyalty to the chef’s-knife method. Sure, the bowl-shaking trick can peel a lot of garlic in a hurry, but I don’t think it's worth the effort (or the racket) for a single clove or even a couple. For that, I’ll stick with the old trusty knife smash. But come EasterSunday—or another garlic-heavy cooking marathon—I'll break out the metal bowls.
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Sources:
Lidia Bastianich is a legendary chef and the author of 16 books, including Lidia’s The Art of Pasta.Todd Coleman is a content creator with 30-plus years in the culinary world, from chef and writer to photographer and videographer.Cara Mangini is a chef and cookbook author (The Vegetable Eater, The Vegetable Butcher).Nini Nguyen is a chef, author (Đặc Biệt), instructor and Top Chef alum.Thomas Perone is the chef/owner of Brooklyn Roots Italian and The Corner in Brooklyn, NY.Hence then, the article about i tried 10 garlic peeling hacks this one is my forever favorite was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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