it's the garlic! I've got it in everything now! Can a person really get too much crushed garlic, now I ask you??
Pathetic Background: I THOUGHT I had a garlic press, but alas, I didn't even know the meaning of "press". I THOUGHT my garlic press was heavy duty - it was sort of an industrial-looking aluminum jobbie and the garlic coming out looked somewhat pulverized. The fact is that I had to put lots and lots of elbow grease into pressing my garlic and it only held about one average size garlic clove.
Stepping up to the plate: I've been on a kitchen gadget kick lately, and while meandering around the internet, the KitchenAid Garlic Press caught my eye. I mostly liked the way it looked - a real 50's retro design. Another thing I found appealing was it's heavy duty construction and, HEY, it's KitchenAid!! Don't they make those great old mixers?? Dishwasher-safe - Good! Non-stick with easy clean-up - YES! Cleaning brush included - COOL!! Okay, I want this thing, and then next thing 'ya know - out comes the credit card. Okay, $13.99 is a lot to pay for a press, but I'm worth it, right?
Pressing On: It arrives and it's beautiful! A rich red enamel and chrome finish with a cool-looking retro "KitchenAid" logo stamped in chrome. It's super heavy and I'm picturing lots of sweaty labor, but....well read on. I immediately set to work on dinner. I actually found a recipe calling for 10 garlic cloves - YIPPEEE!! The KitchenAid garlic press has 2 sizable, leverage-like, handles that come together in a lusciously precise alignment. One handle holds the pressing basket and the the other is just used for the pressing action. There's this cool little lever thing that pivots between the two handles, and when you close the handles the pivoting presser thingy aligns itself just right to fit into the pressing basket. It's science folks, that's all you really need to know. To my happy pleasure, the pressing basket can hold 2-3 cloves! Okay - now press with all your might! But wait, not with the KitchenAid Garlic Presser. Just a little pressure will send garlic pulp erupting out the other side like Mt. Vesuvius!! With a total of 4 painless presses I had 10 crushed cloves of garlic for my recipe. Lots and lots of juice too! Don't 'ya just love that smell??
Clean Up: After pressing the garlic, needed to clean it out. The brush that comes with the KitchenAid Garlic Press has two functions. One end of the brush has little plastic bristles to that fit perfectly into all the basket holes. By pressing this end onto the ejection side of the basket, I was able to poke all that garlic skin loose. The other end of the brush looks like a tiny pastry brush. With this end I was able to brush out all the skin and it came out very easily. Then into the dishwasher went the garlic press and brush. No problems with dish washing - it came out nice and shiny like it went in. The brush attaches to the press, so it doesn't get lost in the drawer. Clever, huh?
Final Notes: This garlic press takes the dread out of crushing garlic. Easy on the biceps, holds a lot of garlic, cleans up easy.... Mr. KitchenAid, are you married?? If you want stinky breath like mine, get this garlic press!
Recommended:
Yes