Preparing garlic

[pennycarbonara]

I don't like garlic crushers because they waste a lot of it and they are a massive faff to clean. (the tin opener shaped ones with the little holes.)
Chopping it doesn't release as much flavour as crushing it.
An Italian friend has a knack of how to crush it with the flat of a knife but I can't quite do this without it sliding about and/or not squashing well. I use a table knife so as not to cut myself and then chop the slightly squashed garlic with a vegetable knife.
Should have really worked out a better way years ago. are there any other methods people use?

I have a little plate with raised bits on that I use for grating garlic and ginger. www.gingerandgarlicgrater.co.uk/products/garlic-graters/#

I don't waste anything with my crusher.

Try putting some coarse sea salt on the garlic, after you've chopped it a bit, before you squash it with the knife?

Or grate it? You can get teeny garlic graters that wash easily.

Peel the clove of garlic and then put it in a pestle and mortar with a little sea salt and crush it up using the pestle or mortar (I don't know which is which)!. The salt helps crush it up.

Garlic powder. Job done.

I buy it ready minced in a jar. I know it is not for purists, but I go through buckets of the stuff, and love it. Garlic in a jar

Yy, if you want to crush it, sprinkle salt (I use salt flakes anyway at home but these do a really good job of breaking down the garlic, table salt would be better than nothing though) and mash it together with the flat side of your knife.
I have never owned a crusher for the reasons in your OP!

I use a meat mallet!

I buy frozen chopped garlic

I find the knife slips too so I'm going to try some of these tips. Thank you!

Chopping releases a lot of flavour, just chop smaller. Alternatively, the method other posters have said works great. Chop roughly or crush hard, then sprinkle with salt and mash with the blade. You sort of drag it with the blade at an angle.

iyouwebuy.co.uk/garlic-peeler-roller?fee=16&fep=1259&gclid=CjwKEAiA6YDBBRDwtpTQnYzx5lASJAC57ObMZLN_dLFes4qD9KLuTsgFlsVERmbeH3GjdjXc2F-DdxoC3Vbw_wcB

One of these plus lulus plate is my way of doing it.

Wow, ten posts already?

TheSpottedZebra Chop partly before squahsing it? Should try that, it would stop the very rounded cloves sliding around. For some reason I thought the squashing was most valuable if done before chopping, but that isn't terribly logical.

TheKitchenWitch (great name) I've thought before that if I had a meat tenderiser I'd use one for garlic, but never particularly needed one otherwise, don't eat that much meat. Also they are bloody scary looking things.

I always just chop mine, it seems plenty flavoursome to me?

Dh tends to use garlic from morrisons

Will also definitely try the salt, And then not add extra salt to the recipe, I'm guessing that's instead of?

If you put the garlic clove in the hand held press WITHOUT peeling it first, the clove will simply pop out of its skin and the skin is in one piece to take out of the press with very little faff. Works every time.

I just grate it. Miles better than the crushers I find, no waste.

Most garlic crushers are crap, good ones don't waste and are easy to clean. Something like this one www.google.co.uk/search?q=garlic+crusher&client=firefox-b&prmd=ivnsp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjfluiTuZfQAhXHCMAKHQEpDJoQ_AUIBigB#mhpiv=15

Use a large kitchen knife, don't peel the garlic. Place the flat of the blade (towards the wide / handle end) over garlic with sharp edge pointing away from your hand. Press down hard with the heel of your hand. Garlic will squash and you can then slip off the skin and chop.

Definitely chop as finely as you can before you go at with the knife/salt trick.

You just need a decent garlic press. Mine wastes nothing. It's from Joseph and Joseph.

Agree with posters higher up, decent press is the answer. I swear by my oxo garlic press, got mine in John Lewis. No bits slip out the side and cleaning is easy, just flip it over and the little pins clean it out, quick rinse and you're done.

Roast and then squeeze it out

this is the best garlic preparer I have ever had! Washes out in seconds. No waste.