I have a garlic press but I don't really like to use it. The skin of the garlic is never pressed through, so I either have to throw it out, which seems wasteful, or mince it separately, which seems to defeat the purpose of using the press. Maybe I just need to buy a better press?
I haven't seen santakou knives. I have one all-purpose knife (which is probably ten years old and has never been sharpened) that I use for everything from cutting and carving meat, to dicing veggies, to mincing garlic and herbs. Maybe it would help if I had some better knifes.
Barbara, I can't begin to tell you the difference a good knife will make. I'm very fortunate though. My DH is a knife FANTATIC. He buys them often and has 10 different things to sharpen them with and is constantly sharpening them. Annoying little sound it makes, but anyway, I can cut through anything quickly and easily, onions, fruit, tomatoes, anything at all. And I can just chop away.
Wait a sec, I thought you like to prepare and cook. Why in the world aren't you using better equipment? Really, invest in a couple of good knives - and a sharpener. You'll be amazed at the difference.
As far as the skin goes on garlic - I remove it. Are you saying that you use it? I thought it was supposed to be removed. It's edible? And valuable?
There are some really good presses on the market right now. I've seen this new one around and have heard great things about it. It's called the Zyliss.
Barbara! You are a cooking fiend--buy yourself some good knives! They make a world of difference. We have some high end Henckels knives (the kind locked away in a cabinet, not packaged in hard plastic) that my bf bought when he was working in professional kitchens more than 12 years ago and we love them. They last forever and thus are worth the expense. For bread and tomatoes, I can't manage without this knife: http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=6036
It's great. And cheap.
I mostly mince my garlic by hand too, but if I'm feeling lazy about peeling it (the worst part, imho) we have a Zyliss garlic press that my bf has had since the dark ages and which still does a fantastic job. It pulls all the paper and skin off the clove for you, so you don't have to.
I echo Robin's question about the skins. What do you mean?!
To quickly peel a garlic clove, take the clove and place it on a cutting board. Then take a butcher knife/cleaver (this is what I always use) or the flat side of anything you can press down on and 'smash' the clove.
LLV, I've tried the smashing routine to peel the cloves and it just doesn't work for me.
Smack it!
LOL
I'll whack the clove with the side of my cleaver and the skin peels right off. Maybe if you smack the garlic, it gets the point across a little better and the garlic says, "Ok ok, I'll undress!"
I do the smooshing on the side of a knife thing to peel my cloves--but I still find it annoying
We received a little garlic-peeler gadget a few years ago as a gift. Basically it's a silicone or rubber tube and you stick the garlic in and roll it around. The skins stick to the rubber and come off the clove. It's a very low-tech gadget, but more trouble than it's worth. It's much easier to smoosh and "undress" or use the zyliss.
The only problem with the smooshing method is that sometimes I want very fine slices of garlic instead of minced, and the smooshing ruins the, um, structural integrity of the garlic for slicing.
The thing about garlic, however, is that it is TOTALLY WORTH THE HASSLE. I love that stuff.
Actually, I discovered a new technique for cooking garlic a few months ago in a Wolfgang Puck recipe I found online. It's a great technique if you're going to saute garlic with green beans, or if you want to stir fry something. It's a double blanching technique. You separate the cloves without peeling them, throw them in a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds and then plunge them into ice water. Then you but them back in the boiling water for another 60 seconds and then again into the ice water. The skins come right off and you can slice or mince your garlic as usual. The blanching sorta cooks the garlic so that it mellows out and helps it to cook at high temps without getting overly dark or crispy. (I like it overly dark and crispy sometimes, but it depends what you are making.) If you do a ton of it (say, a whole head), it makes an excellent base for a Chinese-style garlic sauce to which you can add your chicken or shrimp. Yum!
Robin and Baffled, It's true, I do cook a lot, but I'm also a total cheapskate about cooking supplies. It ridiculous; for a long time I only had one butter knife and a small paring knife, until my SO finally bought me my current "all-purpose" knife. I know I really need to invest in a good set of knives (every time I struggle with cutting a tomato, this point is driven home to me) but the cost is above my threshold for household purchases so it's taking me a long time to get around to it. Which is crazy given the amount of money I spend on other things (personal training, clothes, etc.). I just have this strange hang-up about household items.
So the skin on the garlic thing...I peel off the papery skin and throw that out, but when I put the garlic in my press, there seems to be some sort of inner skin that never goes through the press. After I press the garlic and scrape what comes out into the pan, when I open the press there's always a big layer of garlic that hasn't gone through the press. Maybe it's just that my press isn't very good. I'm sure I bought the cheapest one I could find.
I know I really need to invest in a good set of knives (every time I struggle with cutting a tomato, this point is driven home to me) but the cost is above my threshold for household purchases so it's taking me a long time to get around to it.
Look at it this way, dull knives are dangerous. You are actually more like to injure your self with a dull knife. So view it as an investment in keeping your fingers intact.
BTW, I totally understand. I have a hard time spending money on certain things too.
Barbara, perhaps you could tie the knife purchase to a goal-reward. Then you might feel as though you deserve them. I'm pretty sure you deserve them anyway (all that great cooking you do!), but that might enable YOU to feel that you deserve them too. Plus, working with good knives is soooooooooooo much better than working with crappy knives. Some things are just worth spending money on...
given the amount of money I spend on other things (personal training, clothes, etc.). I just have this strange hang-up about household items. 
