The Chicago Tribune marvels at how
a tiny bulb could inspire the invention of enough kitchen gadgetry that could fill an entire drawer in your kitchen.
How? Because gadget geeks out there are willing to pay for mostly useless toys, most of which could be quite easily replaced by everyday things that you already have. Let's take a look at the garlic gadgets out there, how much they cost, and how much their "everyday" replacements could save them
- Garlic cellar - It's usually made of terra cotta and has some cute relief work of garlic bulbs on it to remind you, in case you forget what's inside, that there's garlic. At Cooking.com, you can get one for $12.95. I'm amazed that there is one for more than $40!! If you just keep your garlic in a small bowl on your countertop, it'll cost you $0.00.
- Garlic baker - Like the cellar, it's made of terra cotta and allows you to roast whole heads of garlic into creamy, garlicky, goodness. One costs $14.95 at Cooking.com, and that doesn't even come with any garlic! There's another for the same price, but the fact that it can double as a tortilla warmer softens the financial blow. However, if you use double thickness aluminum foil folded and sealed into a "packet," it'll cost you $0.00 (rounded to the nearest penny).
- Garlic peeler - The rubber tube is $8.50. How about you lightly crush a clove with the side of your knife and just pull off the papery skins by hand? Then it's free.
- Odor bar - Supposedly, stainless steel removes the odor of garlic from your hands, so this little bar, rubbed between your hands like a bar of "soap" removes the smell of garlic (and onions and fish). Probably has something to do with ions. It costs $12.95, but I bet you have a something in your kitchen made of stainless steel already. Hint: knives, pots, pans, your kitchen sink!
- Garlic press - Top of the line at Cooking.com is $35, and even at the low end, Oxo is still $13.50. You have a knife, use it to lightly crush the garlic, remove the skin that is already falling off, slice, chop, sprinkle with kosher salt, and press with the side of your knife into the cutting board. "Butbutbut! But then I have to touch the garlic and it will make my hands stink!" you say. See above.
- Garlic chopper- I actually was not aware that this tool existed as something separate from the garlic press, so I looked for it blindly, and didn't find it, but found an electric garlic chopper. For real. It is $50, but on sale for $26.99. What a bargain.
So assuming you bought all these garlic gadgets, you would spend almost $90 for a tiny clove of garlic, which you could handle with things you already have for free. Now who just saved you some money?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-23-2006 @ 2:27AM
Dr. Electro said...
Somebody gave me a garlic press as a gift more than thirty years ago. I think I have used it two or three times. Call it once a decade. I usually finish the job with a broad knife and a mallet. Smack. Pressed garlic. I've never bothered to roast garlic at all.
Dr. "Not the gadget freak" Electro
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4-23-2006 @ 8:22AM
vatel said...
The one and only tool was, like the swiss-army knife, invented in switzerland by Zyliss i'ts named "susi" look here :
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004T14B/102-2318637-1041723?v=glance&n=284507
By the way doing pub for Zyliss it would be yery nice of them to offer me one fe free, contact me...;-)...!
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4-23-2006 @ 9:07AM
Angela Pitt said...
The only gadget I need is the back of my chef's knife;
one wack and garlic dilemma is solved.
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4-23-2006 @ 9:08AM
Allison said...
You forgot the garlic mincer:
http://www.leevalley.com/gifts/page.aspx?c=2&p=51924&cat=4,104,53214&ap=1
And the only useful item, the microplane:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/best-products/best-products-lee-valley-stainlesssteel-rasp-and-zester-holder-003391
I will argue hotly in favour of the microplane because it's an extremely good multi-purpose kitchen tool (note that I don't call it a "gadget"). One microplane eliminates the need for many a gadget. I use mine to zest citrus (instead of a zester), grate nutmeg (instead of a special tiny grater just for nutmeg), hard chocolate, parmigiano-reggiano (instead of a cheese mill) or other hard cheese, and ... reduce garlic to a pulp and do so directly into my pan.
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4-23-2006 @ 10:17AM
Hawk said...
I use a garlic press when I'm in a hurry, and I want pureed garlic almost without having to mess with my mini food processor.
Generally, I use a *lot* of garlic when I cook, so I throw it in my mini food processor. That solves many problems.
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4-23-2006 @ 10:55AM
ann said...
i definitely use both the garlic tube and a garlic press when pressed for time
anyone that thinks those tube things are useless should really, REALLY try one
they are SO easy, and totally useful, and sometimes you can get them on sale, mine was only $2
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4-23-2006 @ 11:50AM
Karsh said...
There's also the innovative Garlic Twist.
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4-23-2006 @ 11:53AM
Karsh said...
Gah - forgot the URL.
http://www.garlictwist.com
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4-23-2006 @ 2:53PM
Wendy Mac said...
An easy way to help get rid of the garlic smell on your hands is to throw some flour on your hands, rub together, shake off- the flour supposedly absorbs the oils from the garlic.
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4-23-2006 @ 7:10PM
J.Ho said...
I used a garlic press for a long time when I started cooking. You are right ... all you need a is a good kitchen knife to whack, peel and mince garlic.
One time I was make a caprese-like salad for about 15 people. I nneded to use a TON of minced garlic. I used the side or my cleaver to crush and peel all of it and took out my Wusthof Santoku to run though it all.
For some reason, when I'm chopping/mincing garlic with my favorite knife, I can eaisly block out the rest of the world. Nothing else is important, at that time, than the garlic. This is one of my secret cooking enjoyments!
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4-24-2006 @ 12:23PM
Smoot said...
Rubbing your hands on stainless steel definitely works to remove garlic or any unsavory smell. Rub them well, in between the fingers and all, you'll feel like a dork but the smell will magically and instantly be gone.
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4-24-2006 @ 2:19PM
angela said...
The garlic peeler (tube) is handy when you have to peel lots of garlic or if you have arthritis hands like my mother. Otherwise I just use my knife.
I don't like the mincer either. I preferred chopped garlic to smashed anyway.
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4-24-2006 @ 4:10PM
liz said...
Don't forget if you have a ton of garlic cloves to peel at once, you can get the skins to come off by tossing the cloves in two aluminum bowls you've put together and shaking them up until the skins come off.
I rather like it when my hands smell like garlic, but I'm weird.
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