Essential Kitchen Accessories for the Garlic Lover

I love garlic. It usually makes an appearance at dinnertime, whether part of a marinade or herb rub, or sautéed with some vegetables, or roasted and garnishing any number of dishes.

You can purchase garlic in many forms; fresh, powdered, minced, chopped, roasted, frozen, and more. My fridge and pantry used to contain garlic in all its forms, but I have since limited my purchases to an ample container of whole, peeled cloves. From there, I can reduce the garlic to any form I desire, thanks to a nice sit of kitchen tools and accessories specifically made for garlic.

While some of these garlic-related kitchen accessories may be a bit eccentric, and probably only of value if you intend to use garlic quite frequently, others are highly practical, and still others are just fun to use.

One such item that is both practical and fun is a garlic press. There are many brands of garlic presses available for purchase, but the one I use is the OXO Good Grips Garlic Press. Small and compact, with ease of use as an extra advantage, the OXO Good Grips Garlic Press is an essential kitchen accessory for garlic lovers. The comfortable press fits your palm perfectly, and the design requires only the smallest amount of hand strength. Simply load peeled cloves into the compartment, and close and squeeze the press. The garlic is nearly instantly minced, and flipping one end of the handle to the other side cleans the remainder of the garlic from the holes of the press.

Some reviews claim this garlic press tends to break after continued use. I have not had a problem with mine as of yet, but there are many similar presses to choose from if you are wary of the OXO Good Grips Garlic Press. For a few dollars more, the Zyliss Jumbo Garlic Press works in nearly the same manner, but has a slightly larger compartment for larger amounts of garlic to be pressed at once. The Zyliss Jumbo Garlic Press also does not require the garlic to be peeled first.

The enticing scent and savory flavor of roasted garlic is heavenly on the senses. Served with vegetables, salads, or on a slice of bread, making ample quantities of roasted garlic is easy with this next kitchen accessory. The Norpro Garlic Baker is an attractive terra cotta baker made exclusively for roasting garlic. Able to easily accommodate several heads of garlic, the Norpro Garlic Baker comes with instructions and a recipe to make roasting garlic easy and fun. Easy to clean, you can also store your garlic in the baker between uses.

For quicker results and ease of use, the Roasted Garlic Express is a terra cotta electric garlic roaster that roasts up to 3 heads of garlic in approximately half an hour, about half of the time required by an oven. A self-contained roasting cup can be easily removed for cleaning. With an automatic shutoff and included recipe, the Roasted Garlic Express is a fantastically easy way to enjoy roasted garlic with many meals.

Peeling garlic can be a time-consuming, messy chore. So of course a kitchen accessory exists to reduce the hard work to mere minutes of casual kitchen prep. The Zak Designs E-Z-Rol Garlic Peeler is a simple rubber-like tube. Insert the garlic into the tube and roll back and forth, applying a small amount of pressure. The skin is nearly immediately peeled from the garlic clove. Simple and efficient and very inexpensive, the Zak Designs E-Z-Rol Garlic Peeler is a must-have kitchen accessory for any garlic lover.

Peeled, minced, and roasted garlic is fine, but what about sliced? Sliced garlic for stir-fires, for rice or pasta, or for garnishes, and much more. The Bodum Milano Multi-Slicer is your kitchen accessory capable of handling the task at hand. An easy-to-grip, spring loaded slicer, the Bodum Milano Multi-Slicer easily produces perfectly thin slices from your cloves of garlic, as well as being a useful tool for slicing nuts, ginger, or chocolate as well.

Any one of these kitchen accessories is a useful addition to a garlic lover's kitchen, but the whole group will make you a garlic master, a culinary force to be reckoned with.