As a food editor and someone who cooks in a very tiny apartment kitchen, I’m staunchly anti-single-use tools. For starters, my kitchen has no drawers (zero!) to contain such clutter. Not to mention I spent culinary school and a stint in a restaurant being taught that the more multi-purpose my toolkit was, the more efficient and resourceful a cook I would become. You can keep your avocado pitters and kale strippers because I’m abiding by my rule…with one exception.
The OXO Good Grips Garlic Press is the only single-use tool you’ll find in my kitchen. I know, I know: A garlic press? Don’t the pros hate those things? True, many food professionals consider the garlic press a stain on the kitchen canon. The internet is full of fiery takes about the poor little guys, with bold headlines like “Garlic Presses Are the Devil.” I’m pretty sure the late, great Anthony Bourdain called them an abomination. Why? The argument is that they make the garlic taste aggressively pungent and too easy to burn.
No offense to Mr. Bourdain, but I disagree. My garlic press cost less than $20, keeps my hands from getting stinky, plows through cloves at record speeds and keeps the precious juices from getting left behind on my cutting board. I’ve never noticed a change in flavor (and if your garlic is burning, turn down the heat). I’m partial to OXO’s garlic press for a few reasons: It has a soft, grippy handle that’s satisfying to squish, the chamber is roomy enough to fit a few small cloves or one really big guy and it comes with a built-in cleaner so I don’t have to pick out leftover bits of garlic later on.
And FYI, I’ve also used it to crush peppercorns and mince ginger. Single-use who?
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