Do you have a garlic press?  If so, do you use it every time a recipe calls for garlic?   If your answer is yes, read on.    Garlic can be prepared a variety of ways for different purposes.   I’m going to address three ways to use garlic and when.

Minced Garlic

Minced garlic is best used when you want an infused flavor through the whole dish.  An example would be a pasta sauce or a soup where the garlic adds to the flavor but not as an individual ingredient.  Be careful when using minced garlic in recipes that call for chopped garlic – minced will leave a more powerful presence than roughly chopped garlic.

Chopped Garlic

Chopped garlic is best used when you want the garlic to be noticed – as garlic itself.   An example is cooking my Italian Antipasto recipe.  The garlic is an ingredient which I want to keep as an individual ingredient.  I want bits of garlic mixed in adding an extra component to the dish itself.

Whole Garlic Cloves

Whole garlic is best when you want to keep the cloves whole, not overpowering the dish, but keeping it as an accent.  An example here is my Italian Green Beans recipe which calls for halved garlic cloves.  Ok, so they aren’t technically whole, but they certainly are not chopped.   Use whole garlic when recipes call for roasting.  When you take the dish out of the oven, such as roasted chicken or lamb, the garlic will also be roasted.

So, as much as we love our garlic presses, make sure to use them only as needed!

Liz

www.simpleitaliancooking.com
Simple Italian Recipes

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