Tips & tricks
Handy to Learn: How to Chop Garlic Step by Step
Do you tackle a clove of garlic like a pirate taking on, um, a rival pirate? Or do you take a relaxed laissez faire approach of ‘ah, we’ll see’, with a chop here and a chop there? Or are you simply too lazy to peel the thing and always run it whole through the Microplane?
All valid! No judgment. But once a chef explains step by step how to handle this fairly simple task, you’ll probably never do it any other way again. Chef Claudia Sidoti:
How to chop garlic the easiest way in a few steps
- Take a clove of garlic from the bulb and place it on its side on the cutting board. (Side tip from chefs: always put a clean, damp cloth under the board to prevent it from sliding!)
- Place the blade of your knife flat on the garlic clove. (Another chef tip: always use sharp knives!)
- Press down with the palm of your hand—not completely flat, but hard enough to break the skin.
- Remove the skin from the garlic clove.
- Cut off the tip.
- Now cut thin slices toward the other, hard end. Throw away this last little end.
- You now have lovely slices that you can use as they are, for example fried in a layer of oil until crispy and then scattered over pasta—mmmm.
- For even more intense flavor, chop the slices further using a gentle rocking motion. Keep the tip of your knife on the board and move only the handle up and down, with the blade passing over the garlic. Done!
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