Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Rachael Ray Says: Nuke Your Garlic!





"Tip:  Microwave garlic cloves for 10 seconds -
the skin will slip right off."

- Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine, March 2009





Ever heard this one before?  

This trick really piqued my curiosity, so I gave it a whirl.  The results?  Mixed.

I've often zapped a lemon or a lime prior to juicing, but I'd never heard of giving garlic the same treatment to facilitate the peeling process.  Turns out, it works like a charm.  When you bust open the head, separate the cloves and microwave them for 10 seconds.  The skins will, indeed, slip right off - but that's where you should stop when using this trick.  

It's great for applications in which you'd keep the clove whole (such as roasting), but when I tried to proceed with mincing the garlic, it had turned so sticky that I had a hard time getting the job done.  That small burst of heat must also release a certain amount of ticky-tacky juices, because that garlic wanted to cling to the knife and to my fingers, rendering the chopping process much more difficult than if I had peeled it the old-fashioned way.

Final score?  5.  This tip is useful about half of the time, in my estimation.

C&S

4 comments:

Eddie G said...

Hmm--that's interesting and definitely worth trying! I usually smack the heck out of it, but that's always a sloppy mess :)

Anonymous said...

Ah ha! Thanks for trying this for us.

HeatherBakes said...

Interesting- but I've never really had a hard time peeling garlic... the "smack it with the knife" trick usually works. And sticky garlic is no bueno.

Anonymous said...

Very nice thanks for sharing...........

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