How to Peel and Prepare Garlic

Fresh garlic can’t be beaten! Yes, you can buy pre-prepared garlic, but preparing fresh garlic takes just moments, and gives a much better fresh flavour. Here are 4 ways to peel and 3 ways to chop garlic; one will be perfect for all situations.

Cloves of garlic spilling out from a small container onto a woven rush surface.

Raw, chopped garlic has a distinctively pungent aroma and strong flavour, but when cooked, it mellows to that delicious soft, buttery taste that adds so much to many dishes.

As we all know, whole garlic cloves don’t have a strong smell. The strong smell is only released when the cell walls are crushed and the alliin molecules within each cell are mixed with the alliinase enzyme stored between the cells.

When these mix, one of the molecules produced is responsible for the raw garlic smell.

In a head of garlic, the cloves are held together by the papery skin. And then each clove is itself covered with the same skin.

Whole heads of garlic can be cooked, frequently by roasting or hot smoking; here, the skin is normally left on. However, if the recipe is using one or more individual cloves, then they need to be peeled and often chopped. Here are four ways of peeling and three of chopping cloves of garlic.

How to peel garlic

Some peeling garlic methods are quick and easy, perfect for a couple of cloves or so. However, if you have more to peel, then we also have the technique for you!

Traditional knife method

A close up of garlic being chopped on a wooden board.

On a clean cutting board, place your knife flat the garlic clove. Push down, or give the knife a sharp slap with you hand .You are just looking to break the skin and compress the clove a little, not to completely crush the garlic.
Lift the knife off. The peel should separate from the garlic easily.

Cutting in half

A head of garlic has been cut in half. It sits next to a whole head, both being on a rustic cloth.

If you are using a whole garlic bulb and need minced garlic, you can try this method to peel garlic bulb.

On a cutting board, slice your whole garlic head in half across horizontally.
Place the halved garlic head side down onto the chopping board. Using a large chef’s knife, hit one half of the garlic with the flat of the knife.
Lift off the knife. The skin and cloves should separate easily.
Repeat on the second half of the head.

Hot water

How to peel garlic: a head of garlic has just fallen into some water.

This method is perfect if you need to peel garlic in big quantities at the same time. It works similarly to blanching almonds where the skin will loosen up because of the steam.

Place individual cloves in a heatproof bowl.
Pour very hot water into the bowl. Let the garlic soak for about 1 minute.
Remove garlic from the water.
The peel should separate from the garlic easily.

Jar and shake method

This is a straightforward method.

Cut off the hard root end of the garlic clove, where the skin is attached.
Place the cloves in a large jam jar. Make sure there is enough space in the jar for the cloves to move around.
Close the lid and shake vigorously for about 20 to 30 seconds or until you notice the peel is loosening up.
Remove the garlic from the jar. The peel should come off easily.

How to chop garlic

A board covered with cloves of peeled garlic.

Many recipes, especially those that start with frying onions or similar, call for garlic to be chopped.

There are some tricks to chopping garlic; as noted above, the flavour is released when it’s chopped. Here are four different ways to chop.

Mince garlic by hand

A large wooden handled knife is being used to finely chop garlic, on a wood board. More garlic and other vegetables surround.

Chop the garlic using a large chef’s knife on a cutting board.

Hold the garlic on the board with your fingertips tucked under to keep them away from the blade edge. Keep the blade against your knuckles, but don’t lift it enough to be in danger of cutting your fingers. Chop the garlic.
Once the garlic has been chopped roughly, you can mince it finely by holding the knife in both hands and rocking it backwards and forwards over the garlic. A blade with a good curve on it helps. This method works very well if the garlic has been a little crushed to remove the skin.
Scrape the garlic up with the knife when minced sufficiently, and transfer to the dish.

Crushing Garlic with Salt

To turn garlic into a paste, once it’s been roughly chopped, scrape it into a pile and add a pinch of coarse salt.
Crush the garlic and salt mixture between the flat of the knife blade and the chopping board until it’s a smooth paste.

Chop garlic using a garlic press

A garlic press that has processed some garlic, and half a head of garlic.

For everyday use, if I’m only using one or two cloves of garlic, I find that a garlic press is too much hassle – it’s too fiddly and takes too long to wash compared to the time using it.

However, if you want to use a lot of garlic, then a press is prefect for crushing multiple cloves.

Most work in the same way: put the garlic in the press and close the handle, which will crush the clove.
Some come apart or have a mechanism to remove waste from the holes, to make cleaning easier.

How to store chopped garlic or peeled garlic cloves

A plate of peeled garlic cloves. The plate is sitting on a black background.

It is best to use peeled garlic right away. But if you do want to keep some peeled or chopped garlic, then transfer to an airtight container. Then place the container into your fridge.

To freeze garlic, transfer peeled garlic into freezer bags or an airtight container. Place into your freezer.
Minced garlic can be stored in your fridge for 3 to 5 days. Frozen garlic can last up to 6 months.

You can buy pre-chopped garlic, but if you have fresh garlic in your pantry, why not use it instead? The flavour of freshly peeled and chopped garlic is so much better than a jar of ready-chopped. Much cheaper, too!

How to Peel and Prepare Garlic

See Also