How to Crush Garlic With Just a Knife and a Pinch of Salt
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Garlic is in nearly everything we cook, and there's a point on most weeknights where you stand in front of the chopping board and wonder if it's worth the effort. Mac has a quick trick that gets rid of that. It's what chefs just do, and it takes about thirty seconds.
What you need
Garlic, a knife and a pinch of salt. That's it. No grater to clean, no press, no tedious fine chopping.
How to do it
- Give the garlic a quick, rough chop. It doesn't need to be neat.
- Sprinkle a pinch of salt over it.
- Lay the flat of the knife blade on the board and press and drag the garlic and salt along it, over and over. The salt acts as an abrasive and breaks the garlic down.
- Within a few passes, the chunky garlic turns into a smooth paste.
Coarse salt, such as sea salt flakes, works best because the bigger grains do more of the grinding. Fine salt works too, but it takes a bit longer. The salt also draws out some moisture, so the garlic is less sticky on the blade.
Why it's worth doing
In our shawarma lesson, Mac explains that the salt works as an abrasive and helps turn the garlic into a paste. Without it, garlic stays chunky, as if you'd only chopped it, and it sticks to everything. With it, you get a paste that blends into a sauce, a dip, a marinade or a stir-fry without leaving a raw lump in anyone's mouthful.
What about the jar?
The lazy garlic jar is the obvious shortcut, and it's fine as a shortcut. But compare the labels. Fresh garlic is one ingredient. One supermarket's own-brand crushed garlic, as listed at the time of writing, reads: garlic purée (97%), acidity regulator (citric acid), rapeseed oil, stabiliser (xanthan gum). That's a short list, not a scary one. It's just not the one-ingredient version you can make in half a minute yourself.
Count the salt
The pinch of salt in the garlic counts as seasoning for the dish. In our shawarma garlic dip, the salt from pasting the garlic is the salt for the whole dip, so there's nothing more to add.
Where to use it
- In a garlic yoghurt dip, as in our shawarma post
- In garlic butter, as in our garlic bread label post
- In marinades, stir-fries, curry bases and dressings
Garlic and salt FAQ
Can I use table salt?
Yes, but coarse salt does the job faster.
Will it make the dish too salty?
Use a pinch only, and count it as part of the dish's salt.
Do I need a garlic press?
No. A knife and a board are all it takes.
