Knowing how to properly prepare garlic cloves is an important cooking skill and can be very useful when serving a variety of dishes. Luckily, learning how to do the proper chopping technique only takes a few minutes! With a little practice, you'll be able to add flavorful minced garlic to your favorite dishes like a five-star chef.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Chopping Using a Knife
Step 1. Separate the garlic clove from the cob
You should never chop the garlic just before using it. Start by using your palms to press firmly on the bulb of the onion. The cloves will separate from each other when gently pressed.
- The outer skin of the onion, which has the appearance of crumbly paper, can be pulled and removed to obtain cloves. Try not to throw away the small cloves of garlic that are hidden under the skin.
- Most recipes list the number of cloves or bulbs needed. Usually one medium clove of garlic is equal to 1 tablespoon of chopped onion.
Step 2. Peel the onion
The firm, transparent skin around each clove should be removed before the onion is used for cooking. Here are a few ways to do this:
- You can cut off the hard stem end of the garlic clove (which is attached to the hump) and squeeze the clove out of the skin by pressing it gently and firmly.
- Another method is to place the blade side of the blade over the clove and press firmly until you feel the skin peeling off. Peel the skin with your fingers. Try not to crush the garlic clove completely, which can make the garlic "meat" mix with the waste.
Step 3. Slice the whole onion lengthwise
The thinner the slices, the better. Sharp knives are great here, but make sure you work carefully so you don't hurt yourself. See below:
- One trick chefs use to keep their hands from cutting is to hold the object they are cutting (in this case the garlic clove) with their fingers, and press the clove against the cutting board with bent knuckles. Thus, the blade side rests against the knuckles, and leaves gaps between them with the fingertips to minimize the chance of accidents.
- To better control the knife, hold it against the cutting board and use a swinging motion to slice the onion, instead of up and down.
Step 4. Slice the cloves crosswise
Rotate the garlic clove 90 degrees. Here, thinly slice the onion for a finer cut. use the same slicing technique as before.
When you're done, you'll have dozens (or even hundreds of tiny garlic cubes. Congratulations, you've chopped garlic successfully
Step 5. Keep chopping, if you like
The more you chop the garlic cloves, the smaller they will be, which will enhance the garlic's taste and aroma. If prompted for a recipe, keep swinging the knife back and forth over the minced garlic to make it smoother and reduce any large chunks.
As a reminder, finely chopped garlic is an onion that is finely chopped. “Coarse” chopped garlic is the one that is chopped into large pieces
Method 2 of 2: Chopping Without Knife
Step 1. Prepare and peel the cloves as usual
In this section, you'll learn some alternative ways to mince garlic if a knife isn't available. For each method, you will need to prepare the garlic as usual before starting to chop. In other words:
- Separate the required number of cloves from the cob.
- Remove the remaining skin of the onion.
- Peel the garlic by squeezing each clove out of the skin or crushing it with a knife and peeling off the skin.
Step 2. Try chopping with a fork
One easy way to chop garlic is to use the tip of a fork. This method requires a bit more power, but it turns out to be quite effective. The method:
- Lay the garlic flat on the cutting board and take a strong metal fork.
- Press the bottom of the fork teeth into the garlic. Press the garlic down hard to push it through the slits of the fork teeth.
- Turn the fork and repeat in the other direction. Keep repeating until the last chop.
- Wipe the remaining onion off the fork and remove the core of the bulb from the chopped onion. Now the onions are ready to use.
Step 3. Try using an onion crusher
Another tool that can be used to prepare garlic is a garlic press. This tool does what its name suggests: pressing garlic until it crumbles. To use the onion crusher:
- Place the garlic cloves inside the bowl of the onion crusher.
- Squeeze the handle of the onion crusher. The onion will be forced through the hole on the other side of the tool.
- Scrape off the remaining onions and combine with those forced out of the onion crusher. The onions are now ready to use.
- Another tool that has a similar way of working is a mortar and pestle.
Step 4. Try using a microplane
A microplane is a small tool that looks (and works) like an extra fine cheese grater. Using a microplane on a garlic clove will slice it into razor-thin slices fairly quickly.
- To use a microplane, simply rub some garlic on the blade above the bowl. The wet thin slices will fall through the microplane into the bowl.
- When an onion becomes too small for the microplane to risk injuring your hands, simply chop it or crush it and combine it with the others.
Step 5. Use a food processor
You need to know that almost all food processors can also chop garlic. You can simply turn on the cutting blade a few times to finely chop the garlic. Since the cloves of garlic are quite small, it can be too much of a hassle to prepare a food processor to chop just one onion. On the other hand, this tool is ideal if you need to chop a lot of garlic for a large recipe.
Tips
- Methods of crushing onions or obtaining super-thin slices (e.g. pressing and microplane methods) produce a stronger taste and aroma than regular chopping. Warning: this method can also make the onion taste in the dish too strong.
- Also be aware that finely chopped garlic tends to burn more easily than whole or coarsely chopped cloves.
