OXO SteeL Garlic Press, Stainless
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List Price: Our Price: $15.99 You Save: $4.00 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of OXO SteeL Garlic Press, Stainless
Customer Review: Really, Really Nice
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently broke my third or fourth not-so-cheap garlic press. On this last one, the handle broke. On the others, the area around the hinge tore out. In all cases, it happened while trying to press cloves with the skins still on, as one is supposed to be able to do. The zinc or cast aluminum construction just did not hold up. I decided to go with solid steel (but not spend too much money). This looked like the answer.
When it arrived, I thought I may have made a mistake. (I probably would not have bought it if I had seen it in a store.) The thing is surprisingly heavy--not OSHA rotator-cuff-incident heavy, mind you, but you wouldn't want to drop it on your foot. The plunger part also looked too small to prevent all the pulp from squshing out the side.
I'm glad I bought it by mail, though, because I have been incredibly (as in, looking for excuses to use it) happy with my purchase, at least with my new, highly secret, way of using it:
Secret system--(Now it may turn out that everyone but me has been pressing garlic like this since the beginning of time, but as far as I'm concerned, this is my own invention. If your Nonna claims credit, she is LYING. But you are welcome to use it.) Keep the skin on the garlic cloves, but cut them in half cross-ways. Place them in the press with the cut side against the grate. Then push. The garlic will squirt out quickly, with very little effort and very little waste. Better yet, rather than being left with a clot of fibrous waste you have to scrape out of the chamber with your fingernail, you have a neat package contained in the husks which lifts out easily and cleanly. Nothing oozes around the sides of the presser and has to be pushed back in for another pressing, and little or nothing gets left in the grate holes, which are square and much larger than on most presses.
So, it's a great garlic press and looks like it could really last forever, even with the frequent use I am sure it will get. It also, despite the weight, feels great in the hand.
Customer Review: Best garlic press EVER.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had probably 9 different garlic presses over the years. Maybe I have wimpy hands or something but it always seemed like they didn't work nearly as well as I hoped, were hard to press well, or left such a bunch unpressed, plus were kind of a pain to clean. Fresh garlic is one of my favorite things ever, but I use it not so often the last couple years just because I get so tired of mincing it. I wasn't going to buy a garlic press last week, but was browsing while shopping and the reviews on this gave me hope, so I tried it out.
Seriously--they weren't kidding, this thing rocks! It fit the largest cloves I had or 2+ of smaller ones. It's heavy duty enough that you don't have to be a muscleman to press it out. (I use a knife to 'slice it off' the outside where pressed, then you flip the handle around and the little pegs push anything inside it out the other side, and I use the knife to just pull that off (comes off in one superthin piece generally). I'm probably making it sound more complicated than it is.) Very easy.
I was able to make our "Toastez" spread (4oz colby-jack cheese fine-grated, 4-6 garlic cloves, enough mayo to make it 'sculpt-able', let sit for awhile to meld, put on toast or anything else. It's wonderful) superquick and much better for having the press instead of mincing. I rinsed it off and that was that. I've used it since -- it's so fast and easy. I'm afraid garlic is becoming my food-drug of choice and this press is enabling me. (And it's such a solid little thing it could double as a weapon...)
I recently went to all-silicone in my kitchen and 'hanging' things on racks. This doesn't have anything to hang it with alas, which I decided kinda made sense once I considered the shape. But it's so cool maybe I should just keep it handy on the counter anyway.
Customer Review: No health value in roasted garlic?
Summary: 5 Stars
This garlic press is terrific!. I recently learned that roasting garlic as a WHOLE BULB, tasty though it is, has very little if any value for health. I read that heat destroys the valuable compounds. I was very surprised. I have been making it often with my roaster Roasted Garlic Express - White and then using it in my cooking, and I will continue to do so for great flavor. BUT I want the benefits of garlic too. I learned that garlic needs to be pressed or chopped and allowed to sit for 10-30 minutes BEFORE using in cooking, to allow time for the valuable compounds to develop. Once they have developed, one should put the garlic into food at the last few minutes so heat will not destroy these compounds. The general opinion is that one or two cloves a day is recommended for health. Now I crush a couple cloves with my new press, mix them with a little olive oil, sundried tomatoes and parmesian cheese and spread on toast. That way I can't really taste the strong raw garlic. This press is solid, sturdy and very easy for my small hand to press. I didn't know what self-cleaning meant until I saw that all I have to do is flip it around and little prongs clean out the holes! I love this garlic press! Don't give up your roasted garlic (electric Garlic Express) but get this press for your fresh.Customer Review: Excellent mincing, Fantastic Clean Up, Handle?--not so much
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this mincer for almost a year. As advertised, it does a great job of mincing garlic. Also as promised, the clever design allows for easier cleaning than other mincers I've used before. As another reviewer mentioned, this product is nice and heavy. It feels really solid and industrial strength in your hand. One problem I've had though is that the handle keeps coming apart. The handle construction is such that there are "sheaths" (the famous OXO rubbery grip) that is integrated with the stainless handles. The first few times there were no problems but after a few washings (I use the dishwasher), the sheaths started to slip off. I just shoved them back on, but I don't feel like I should need to do that? Maybe they can use some kind of structural modification to make the sheaths physically "click" onto the main unit. anyway, even with slipping handle, it still works well, and at least there are no sharp edges, otherwise slipping handles would be unacceptable. I've bought MUCH more expensive mincers than this one (there is a ridiculously priced Italian one from Williams Sonoma), but the OXO mincer is still the best I've had so far. The way the mincer can be flipped over to push the fibrous/peel out of the mincing chamber is really simple ingenuity. Saves a lot of time digging it out with your finger nail.Customer Review: A broken Oxo Press is better than a new replacement from another company
Summary: 4 Stars
The other day I walked into the kitchen and my wife seemed upset so I asked her what was wrong. She gave me the Oxo Garlic Press and advised me it no longer worked. I gave it a try and the problem was that the spoon portion no longer fit into the press portion. It turned out that cap that held the bar in place broke off and thus it was no longer a snug fit. By messing around I got it to work but it takes effort. Her mom had given her a new garlic press from some other company so I suggested to my wife she use the new one and was told that the garlic on the replacement did not hold and that it was cheap, my wife said " I will continue to use the broken Oxo rather than use this other piece of crud". So there you have it even broken the Oxo is my wifes favorite tool.
We had our press for several years before it broke. It has a great handle and is much heavier than I would have expected but that gives the illusion of quality in my book. The press worked well and the garlic was easily held in place. Needless to say the reason that I am on the Amazon website today is so that I can buy another Oxo Steel Garlic Press. It really is a nice kitchen tool that seems to be well made despite my broken one (I am calling it a fluke as all of our Oxo products have withstood the test of time).