How To: These 10 Garlic Hacks Don't Stink

Garlic is a key ingredient in many delicious meals, and if you've been a fan of our site for even a short while, it's no secret that we love to share tricks and tips to make cooking with garlic even easier than you first assumed.

Here are just 10 of the many ways to both prepare and enjoy garlic that we at Food Hacks Daily love to use in our personal kitchens.

1. Mince Garlic Quickly with a Fork

You'll never buy minced garlic from the store again with this simple fork hack. It's quick and efficient for mincing up 1-2 cloves at a time. Kids can join in too, since there are no sharp knives involved.

2. Peel Garlic with the Twist & Snap Method

Peeling individual garlic cloves doesn't have to be a struggle. Just twist and snap to remove husks in seconds.

3. Mince Garlic Without Dirtying a Cutting Board

If sparkling counters make you happy and you avoid dirtying dishes at all costs, this hack is for you. Just mince a clove of garlic over your skillet with a knife.

4. Peel a Bulb of Garlic Without Actually Peeling It

Save your fingers from tireless peeling with a whole lot of shaking: all you need is a bowl, plastic container, and some muscle to force the garlic out of its skin. (It's kind of like the egg-shaking trick.)

5. Keep Garlic from Sticking to Your Hands & Knife

Chopping garlic can quickly become a sticky mess when it releases mercaptans—the sulfur compound responsible for making garlic stick to just about everything it touches. Thankfully, there's a secret ingredient that prevents it from sticking to your hands and knife.

6. Take the Bite Out of Garlic

When the strong flavor of garlic becomes too much for some, you'll need to tone it down. To do so, you can roast it or microwave it before using it in your dishes—the taste will be much more mellow.

7. Make Garlic Paste Without a Garlic Press

If a kitchen tool only has one use, it's not going to be a tool I keep around, and that's the case with bulky garlic presses. Why buy one of those when you can mince and paste garlic with a knife in seconds. (Now you don't have an excuse for purchasing the store-bought jar.)

8. Make Garlic Infused Olive Oil & Vinegar

Infused oil and/or vinegar is great for cooking in a hurry—it adds wonderful flavor to food with minimal effort on your behalf. But these specially-flavored condiments can get pricey fast. So you're better off making your own garlic-infused olive oil and vinegar at home (safely) and saving a few bucks in the process.

9. The Garlic Pairing Guide

Garlic comes in many varieties; hardneck, softneck, creole, black, elephant, scapes... the list goes on and on. To prevent any confusion, a good pairing guide does wonders for helping you decide what kind you need for individual dishes.

10. The Wonders of Black Garlic

What the heck is black garlic? If you aren't a chef or avid foodie, black garlic might have you feeling confused. But don't worry, we've demystified black garlic for you—and it's definitely something you'll want to try at home.

Get Garlicky

This list of hacks should set you well on your way to becoming a garlic master in the kitchen—whether it's prepping garlic, pairing it with other flavors, or trying new garlic varietals. (On the other hand, if you end up sick of garlic after all is said and done, well... there's plenty of garlic substitutes that will suit your needs.)

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