Why and How to Smash Your Garlic

For a happier, healthier, smellier you!

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Why smash garlic?

Here’s the scientific explanation. Smashing or crushing a clove of garlic breaks down the cell walls of the clove quickly, that creates a new Sulphur compound, allicin. Allicin is responsible for that instantly recognizable garlicky-smelling taste. Smashing a clove of garlic breaks more cell walls than slicing, cutting, or mincing the clove with a knife. As a result, smashing or crushing garlic triggers the maximum creation of allicin and releases its most potent flavor.

That’s the why, but the fun is in the how. I’m hooked for sure! Here’s how.

Move over chef’s knife and garlic press.

Sure, you can use the flat side of your chef’s knife and whack a clove of garlic on a cutting board. But then there’s the safety concern. Let alone the hours of practice to perfect your culinary technique. Then it gets boring.

Or you can press a clove of garlic thru a garlic press. Just Google that subject, and the reviews will convince you to throw out your garlic press if you have one. Simply put, you end up with garlic paste without much oil, which is left behind in the press. As a result, the taste of the paste is paste.