I used to crush garlic with the flat of my knife for years, now I just grate it with a microplane

At the station in Austin, I always thought smashing garlic was the fastest way to get it into a pan. Then about 8 months ago I picked up a $12 microplane and tried grating a single clove over some butter, the flavor was way more even and it melted right in. No more hunks of half-crushed garlic burning in the oil. Has anyone else switched tools for a basic prep task and noticed a big difference in their final dish?

3 comments

3 Comments

margareto261mo ago

Oh yeah, once I switched to grating ginger instead of chopping it, everything tasted way better.

wren6381mo agoOG Member

Wait, so does grating ginger actually make it taste different, or is it just the texture thing? I tried that microplane trick with garlic once and ended up with a soggy mess in my pan. But ginger I’m more careful with, had a bad experience where I chopped it too fine and it turned bitter when I cooked it too long. Now I just smash it with the side of a knife and toss it in whole for soups or curries. Way less control but also way less cleanup, you know? I figure if you’re not making something delicate like a sauce, the rough approach still gets the job done without the hassle.

the_jennifer1mo ago

Grate it and it releases all that juice, @margareto26, totally changes the flavor profile. I learned that trick from a Thai cookbook and now I never chop ginger unless I'm making a stir fry. Works for garlic too, actually, if you hit it with a microplane instead of mincing.