Pro tip: Don't buy a $40 garlic peeler from a TikTok ad

I fell for one of those silicone tube garlic peelers and it took me 20 minutes to peel one clove. The thing just mashed the garlic into paste instead of peeling it. Has anyone actually gotten one of those things to work?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo_schmidt8d ago

Wait, so I spent $40 on something that only works if you're holding a farmers market level garlic clove? Great, just great. I feel your pain though, I tried mine with some sad old garlic from the back of my fridge and it turned into a sticky mess that took forever to clean off the counter. The ads make it look like you just roll it around for two seconds and perfect skin comes off, but reality is a soggy garlic disaster. At least now I know it's not just me being bad at garlic, the tool itself is basically a scam for normal people.

vera3089d ago

You said "the thing just mashed the garlic into paste instead of peeling it" and that's exactly what happened to me too. But I think the real problem is people don't realize those silicone tubes are meant for a specific type of garlic. They only really work on the big, loose skinned cloves you get from fresh heads, not the tight skinned ones from a jar or old garlic. If the clove isn't perfectly dry and a little loose, the tube just squishes it instead of breaking the skin. I gave up after three tries and went back to the old garlic press method. Those ads make it look so easy but the truth is most of us don't have the right garlic for it.

barbara_baker578d ago

Toss that silicone tube in a drawer and forget about it. The real trick is to hit the clove with the flat side of a knife first. Just a quick smack to crack the skin, then it'll slip right off in seconds. I spent way too long messing with those gimmicky peelers before learning this from a friend who actually cooks for a living. If the skin is real stubborn, soak the clove in warm water for a minute first. That loosens everything up so you can just pinch the skin off. Saves you time and you don't have to clean a sticky silicone mess afterwards.