Kuhn Rikon Epicurean Garlic Press
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Kuhn Rikon Epicurean Garlic Press
Customer Review: Nice press but overengineered
Summary: 3 Stars
I have had this press for 9 months and have used it frequently enough (1x to 3x weekly) to justify my rating. I bought this based on the Cook's Illustrated recommendation.
This press definitely is a beautiful, high quality tool - very heavy, solidly built, satiny stainless steel. It is a bit large for my hands and somewhat difficult to squeeze. I would not call it ergonomic for small hands. It does make nicely minced garlic, but I also have had problems with garlic being squeezed out along the sides of the press, as mentioned by other reviewers. Also, there is a flat piece of garlic left in the press that I need to fold over in order to get the whole clove pressed (this also happens with my Zyliss and is one reason I was searching for a new press). It does not work very well on smaller, flat cloves of garlic, even if multiple cloves are put into the press.
The part with holes is a separate piece that flips out and it tends to annoyingly flip up if you do not make a conscious effort to hold it down (but there is a convenient finger tab, so it was well designed). Although it is easy to clean due to the hinged parts, it is still more difficult to clean than my classic Zyliss press due to the flip up part with holes (not just due to the holes themselves, but also due to the junction areas of the parts). The handles are smooth and rounded, though, so no gunk gets stuck inside them. Overall, it is just kind of clumsy to handle.
When I first got the Kuhn Rikon Epicurean press, I probably would have given it 5 stars since I was enamored with its beauty (even the name sounds regal). But after using it for 9 months, sorry to buck the 5-star trend, but I am giving the KR press 3 stars. It is very expensive and I find myself going back to my trusty Zyliss Susi Deluxe garlic press since it is faster to use - just open, throw in the clove and squeeze - and just as effective. I even dug the Zyliss out of the Goodwill donation bag so that I could continue using it. I wash the Zyliss out with my sink sprayer and garlic comes out of the holes easily (even easier if I wet it down and let the garlic remnants sit for a few minutes - they tend to plump up and out of the holes - this is also true for the KR press) (I threw out the Zyliss plastic cleaning tool since it was unnecessary) (yes, I also know the trick about not peeling the cloves, but I don't like to waste any of the garlic that would be left inside the peel). The Zyliss was Cook's Illustrated's previous favorite garlic press. I have not had much problem with the Zyliss coating flaking off, as noted by CI. I know the Zyliss was re-designed in the last year or two, so I'm not sure how the current design compares to the one I have. A stainless steel Zyliss would be great to have...
Anyway, bottom line on the KR - high quality, expensive, does the job, not much easier to clean than other presses.
Customer Review: Genuinely Labor-Saving
Summary: 5 Stars
Back when I was reading through these reviews myself, the two things that made me decide to buy this model were:
1. People said you didn't even need to peel the cloves for it to work; and
2. It was reported as super-easy to clean.
In real life I suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, and all the little things do add up. So getting the easiest possible solution to my garlic dilemma was more important to me than most. The truth is, I'm nowhere near the gourmet the other reviewers here seem to be. I mainly wanted a press because of the apparent health benefits of garlic.
So with all that in mind, I'm especially happy to report that this press has lived up to the claims made on both counts!
My only caveat would be that some reviewers do seem to have reported that this model comes with its own pick for cleaning. It doesn't. But the beauty of it is, it doesn't really need one.
Think of this press as being made of four spokes, each swinging out from a central hinge. At one end is the handle you'd press against your fingers. The next spoke holds the grill you mash the garlic through. When pushed against the first handle, this grill is held in place by small side-wings. Then there's the press itself - the bit that mashes the garlic through the grill. And finally, the "outer" handle you'd squeeze with your thumb and palm. The final handle and the press also have a kind of seperate joint holding them together. All four spokes can swing freely, which makes it a total breeze to clean. You don't need to do much more than hold this thing under the tap and maybe run your fingers over the grill a few times to dislodge any remaining particles.
As for the people who appeared to claim that the model comes with a pick, I'm more inclined to blame Amazon than the reviewers. Unfortunately one of the best pieces of advice I can give you about reading Amazon reviews is never blithely assume that what you're reading was actually written about the product the review is attached to. I've certainly seen enough of my own reviews appearing on the product pages of alternate editions and whathaveyou.
Looking back to when I myself was reading through these reviews, I know sometimes it's tough to be certain you should vote for the review you're reading as "Helpful", simply because it's tough to be sure that what you're reading really does apply to the product you're looking at - and so yes, it really is helpful! For this reason I often insert product links into my reviews so you can be sure exactly which product the review was written for: in this case the Kuhn Rikon Epicurean Garlic Press. So please, take my advice and check to be sure.
Hope this helped!
Theo.
Customer Review: THIS THING IS A MESS, STAY AWAY FROM THIS GARLIC PRESS!
Summary: 1 Stars
This garlic press is extremely huge, heavy, awkward and bulky! And, there is a gap where garlic squishes out, making a mess, and making it hard to clean. I also got pinched once! The made in China label is most likely why this thing is junk! Read all the 1 star and 2 star reviews and you will find the same info as I am writing about. I ignored them when I bought this thing, and shouldn't have!
I had high hopes for it, read many reviews, and all I can conclude as to why so many have delusionally rated this high, is because most have nothing to compare it to. That's my best guess.
Fortunately, I bought a $16 Zyliss Susi 2 Garlic Press a few days prior to purchasing this Kuhn Rikon, so I know this difference between a good garlic press and an overpriced malfunctioning contraption. I was going to return the the Zyliss to a local kitchen store where I bought it, because it didn't have a shiny finish and I thought it was a little hard to clean every tiny piece of garlic out of (later I discovered the cleaner it comes with makes it easy to clean). BUT, I am now keeping the Zyliss and it is a dream compared to this Kuhn Rikon hunk of junk. If you really want a good garlic press, buy the Zyliss, it's far smaller, very light, and I can't possibly see anyone liking the Kuhn Rikon after trying the Zyliss. You've been warned!
The Zyliss Susi 2 Garlic Press is not shown with a cleaner on Amazon. So, if you can find one at a local kitchen shop with the cleaner, I would get one. Otherwise, you can try the Zyliss Susi DeLuxe Garlic Press which comes with a cleaner or the Zyliss 12040 Jumbo Garlic Press with Cleaner on here. I haven't used them, but assume they're good. But, I can't recommend any garlic press without a cleaner, just too hard to clean without one. A toothbrush might be an alternative, you could try if you needed to, or waiting until the garlic dries. You have to be able to stick something into the press holes or it just doesn't clean well. With the cleaner, it cleans a a few seconds.
I also love the finish on this Zyliss. It is not shiny, so you get no fingerprints. All you have to do is rinse the garlic off, I never have to actually clean it with a sponge or anything, it just doesn't need it. Once you use a garlic press with this sort on finish, you will never want one of the shiny ones again! I'm using way more garlic than I've ever used in my life because of my Zyliss. I'm even using it to press fresh ginger so I can make ginger tea and drinks!
Customer Review: Not as good as it used to be, now made in China : (
Summary: 3 Stars
I've probably spent more on garlic presses than anyone else writing reviews here. About 2 years ago I bought every press I could get my hands on, from grocery stores to gourmet specialty shops to Amazon, on a quest for the best. MOST OF THEM ARE JUNK!! Eventually, I concluded that this one was the best ever(it was also one of the most expensive) -- so I gave it to my daughter! Now, tired of making do with inferior equipment, I finally bought one for myself.
I should have bought one back then, because *this is not a very good press anymore*. The price is lower, but so is the quality.
The first tip-off was the need for a razor blade and alcohol just to get the brand and "made in china" stickers off the handle. Then I noticed that the handles clacked against each other when it was all the way closed, where my recollection was that there was a bit of springy tension between the basket and press plate that held the handles apart in the other. The whole thing rattled when shaken. But the worst was when I put a clove in. The mince came out a watery pulp, and it left about 20% of the clove in the basket. Not the same device at all. The one I gave to my daughter pressed a clean, dry, uniform mince, and left only a paper-thin wisp of residue. It really was a beautiful thing.
I learned much from my little research project a while back. First and foremost: close tolerances! If there is much gap between the plunger and the basket, the garlic will squeeze up around the plunger instead of down through the mincing holes. Secondly, the mechanism should allow the user to apply some pressure between the plunger and the basket at the fully-closed position, to squeeze the last little bit through. This press is uniquely designed, but those are the two operative principles where this device fails. A millimeter here, a millimeter there, and you go from best in the world to just another piece of junk that looks like it should work but doesn't.
I read a one-star review, and I think it was obviously written by a Zyliss marketer, but I'll still agree with him/her that the best you can do, for now, is the Susi 2. It has deficiencies, some of which are design flaws in my opinion, but it gives the best results currently(January 2011).
Here's hoping Kuhn Rikon comes to their senses and tightens up their tolerances, or that someone else will manufacture a really good press like this one used to be. I have no problem with more traditional designs(hinged plunger, integral cleaning head), if only someone will make one really well, as Kuhn Rikon used to do with this design.
In summation: used to be great, now barely mediocre, shake your head in disappointment and go with the Susi 2.
Customer Review: Make your home into a vampire-free zone!
Summary: 5 Stars
For years, I used my OXO Good Grips Garlic Press on a weekly basis until one sad day, the metal hinge broke right across the top. Because of the design flaw (other reviewers have had the exact same experience with the metal buckling), I wanted a replacement that didn't have the hinge at a pressure point. I also *didn't* want something like Zyliss's Zyliss Susi DeLuxe Garlic Press, where the paint comes off on your garlic.
I narrowed down my choices to the Rösle Garlic Press garlic press and the Kuhn Rikon, both designed in Switzerland and manufactured in (where else?!?) China. Both are made of stainless steel and are dishwasher safe. I tried out the Rosle at a Williams-Sonoma and was unimpressed by the lightweight feel of the handles, so I took my chances with the Kuhn Rikon (rated "best garlic press" by the illustrious Cook's Illustrated). The handles are also ergonomic and great for arthritis suffers like myself. At more than twice the cost of my old press, it was a lot more than I wanted to spend, but I also didn't want to throw away money on a cheap model that I'd end up replacing sooner rather than later.
I took it for a test drive on some particularly large cloves of garlic. The Epicurean demolished it on the first squeeze, and rather messily, I might add. Remember those slo-mo videos of a bullet going through an apple? Imagine all those little garlic particles spraying all over your stove. You get the picture. I aimed a little more carefully on the second clove, and voila. The press literally used up 99% of the garlic clove, unlike my previous Oxo, which would leave about 30% still intact. The swinging basket design makes cleanup a breeze; no tool is included, but you just need to dig out the remains with a fingernail or toothpick and rinse. It's dishwasher-safe and has a lifetime warranty. Although it's probably the priciest kitchen utensil I've invested in, I use *a lot* of fresh garlic and need something that can live up to the hype.