tips & tricks: garlic 101

while i may now look like a culinary goddess. oh wait, that is only in my own mind? ok, well while i may not be a culinary goddess, at this state in the game i know a thing or two.

when i started cooking and writing six years ago, there wasn't really a game plan. i just did it. no real reason other than, why not? i didn't expect that it would result in falling in love with food and feeding people, or that i would inadvertanley teach myself how to cook. and i had no clue it would ultimately result in a career change.

but what i do know, is that i wish i didn't have to learn SO MUCH by trial and fire. sure, blogs were giving me recipes and the various mainstream food outlets offered hundreds of takes on the same damn thing. but no one was giving me telling me that if i smashed the garlic the skin would come right off. of that if i'm making something that's being blended there is no reason to waste a bunch of time mincing garlic. i wish someone had given me all the tips and trick that made me look and feel like a pro in the kitchen. you know, that gourmet at home shit.

o i'm brining you garlic 101. the things i WISH i had known when i was embarking on my cooking journey. maybe you know them, maybe you don't. it is always good to brush up on your skills. after all, we are always learning.

garlic 101:
on the left is a head of garlic. on the right are five cloves of garlic. a head of garlic is made up of a bunch of cloves of garlic. not going to lie, if i'm going to be using a lot of garlic, i buy pealed garlic. i keep both on hand in my kitchen at all times. sometimes you need to roast a whole head of garlic, or stuff some up the backend of the bird, but keeping the pealed stuff on hand can really cut down on your time.

one of the first mind blowing tip i learned in the kitchen was how to quickly peal garlic. i use a TON of garlic. sometimes, you can't get your hands on pealed garlic. and when you are pealing 20 cloves a time, it can be tedious.
to smash your garlic, you will want to use the thickest part of either a chef's knife (top) or santoku knife (bottom).

place the thick part of the blade on a garlic clove. using the heal of your palm, press the knife into the garlic until you feel it smash beneath you. if you are feeling a little frustrated, you could also whack it with your fist (but be a bit more careful here).