I could never get used to using a garlic press - the mushy, sticky results just seemed wrong to me. And I am in love with my knives and would hate to cheat on them with a one-purpose tool. Although I never had such a lovely press.

Ah, but a really good garlic press is like a work of art! Not mushy, but perfectly crushed garlic that cannot be replicated with a knife no matter how hard you try. It's not to take the place of mincing (although it works in a pinch), it's a totally different garlic experience.

Clotilde, if you can get a friend in the States to send you the one made by Pampered Chef, theirs is the best I have tried. Very durable, and easy to clean.

I used to use a press for my garlic, but never again. I use my chefs knife to smash the garlic. That way you get are releasing the oils with one good whack and not pulverizing your garlic. Then if you want it in pieces do a quick mince.

I own a garlic press, though like most "uni-taskers" it sits mostly unused in my untensil drawer...maybe i should donate it to some needy household....

What's the difference (in taste) between pressing garlic or mincing it?

Anyone, anyone?

I'm (very) late in the game commenting on this one but I will say this: When I have a dish that's almost done cooking and I want to infuse it with a bit of raw garlic flavor (some asian food loves this) a press works wonders.

Reduced to a paste, the garlic spreads quickly through the dish and there are no discernable pieces of raw garlic for my guests to choke upon ;)

I've also used mine to do similar things with shallots (quartered), and even very fresh lemon grass slices!

I just broke my second garlic press, the first from Ikea, and the second identical to the one pictured above. I'm not a lazy person, but I am a garlic lover, and I find it way too tedious to finely mince all of my garlic when I need a lot. I don't think you'll find many professional chefs mincing garlic for their restaurants so I just don't think it's a priority to waste the time with the paper, the stickiness, and the tediousness.

In that regard, I need a new press, and preferably one that is not going to break, that is easy to clean, and that won't cost me an arm and a leg because I am afraid to buy another at this point.

Yes, you are completely right there is no need to waste time on that to cut garlic manually. Especially today there are so much opportunities which allow to make it without the help of a knife.

no surprise this kind of garlic press broke it is made out of cast aluminum ,next time buy a steel or stainless one instead of the cherry/olive pitter look for a cleaning insert to make the cleaning of the holes a breeze,i like to use the side of chef knife too,but i agree clove slice and paste have different use and should not be judge one against the other.

After breaking our last garlic press I finally shelled out for a Rosle press. It is perfect. Stainless steel that looks impossible to break and easily presses several cloves at once. Best of all, the "mesh" part swings out for incredibly easy cleaning. Very much worth the expense.

You know, smashing a clove of garlic with the flat of a knife takes care of the peel for you. Smash further if you want garlic paste.

Pro chefs usually are trained to make very short work of things like garlic cloves, so it's not in the least tedious to do many of them. (They also only work with very sharp knives, which make most kitchen tasks far easier.)