How to Easily Peel Garlic? |12 Easy Methods

You will find garlic in every yummy recipe, as it is one of the most important ingredients used in every cuisine.

But the biggest turn-off is that it is quite annoying to peel garlic if you don’t have a garlic peeler, as you gonna end up having smelly, garlicky, and sticky hands that last for a long time.

Here is your step-by-step guide for “How to easily peel garlic”

How to Peel Garlic Fast?

First Method: Crushing with a Knife

Tools

• Chef knife or spoon
• Flat surface/ cutting board

Steps

• Get the entire head of garlic and start to break it off

• Take as many cloves as you want and put each clove on the cutting board.
• Put the flat side of your wide knife on the unpeeled garlic cloves.
• Start pressing with the palm of your hand on the clove using the chef knife until you hear a crash sound.
• Repeat with the cloves you need to peel off.

This technique is good when you need a small number of cloves. It won’t work properly if you need to peel large amounts of garlic as it’s gonna take a large effort as well.

Second Method: Shake Shake!

Tools

• Mason jar or glass container

Steps

• Break off the head of garlic and separate the cloves
• Put all the cloves in the jar/ air-tight container.
• Shake the jar/airtight container for 15-20 seconds
• Take a look, If not all cloves got peeled, start to shake the jar again.
• Take the garlic cloves out of the jar and peel their outer skin off.
• Mince or chop as needed

This jar method is good for peeling large amounts of garlic cloves quickly.

If you don’t have a couple of mason jars or food containers, you can use two bowls or dishes instead; it might turn out to be your favorite garlic peeling method!

Third Method: Loosen in Hot Water

Tools

• Boiling water
• Glass Bowl/ Decent-sized bowl

Steps

• Boil some water, and then pour it into a safe bowl
• Break off the head of garlic
• Put the cloves in bowl, and then leave them for about 5-10 minutes
• Take the cloves out of the water. peel the garlic by taking the garlic skin away from them if needed.

After five minutes in the water, the outer skin around the individual cloves will start to peel off, but some other cloves might still need you to use your nails to peel them off.

This garlic hack, hot water method is great for peeling a large amount of garlic quickly.

Fourth Method: Loosen in Microwave

Tools

• Microwave (obviously!)
• Microwave-safe bowl

Steps

• Trim the head of garlic
• Place the head on the dish
• Put the dish in the microwave for 20-30 seconds
• Wait till the head cools down, then you will find the cloves slipping from the outer skin right away.
• Peel garlic cloves if needed.

This garlic peeling hack is good when you making recipes that need big amounts of garlic.

Alternative For The Microwave Method

• Microwave the entire garlic bulb or individual cloves for 15-20 seconds wrapped in a damp paper towel (15 for high-powered microwaves).
• Then take it out of the microwave and lightly rub it with a paper towel, you will find the cloves easily separating from their skins.

Make sure you don’t heat the garlic too much. It will be easy to peel and the garlic will be slightly warm after 15 seconds, while after 30 seconds, it will still peel easily, but will be so hot for you to hold.

So, we recommend starting to soften. As a result, I recommend 15 seconds (or 20  seconds if you have a low-powered microwave).

Fifth Method: Bend and Twist (Or The Classic Method as We Call it!)

Tools

• Just your fingers!

Steps

• Loosen the garlic bulb,
• Pinch and twist the top of the skin against the clove with your fingers till you hear a crack sound.
• Start peeling the outer layer off.

Sixth Method: Cold Water

Tools

• Bowl (Metal bowls recommended)
• Cold water

Steps

• Pour some cold water into a bowl.
• Loosen the cloves from the entire garlic bulb by breaking it off,
• Put all the cloves inside the bowl.
• Wait for twenty minutes.
• Take the cloves out of the water and easily remove the papery skin.

As you can see, this garlic peeling method is one of the simplest ways in our “how to peel garlic” tutorial.

Seventh Method: Silicone Mat (Yeah! It Can Do The Magic!)

Tools

• Silicone mat

Steps

• Break off the heads of garlic to loosen the cloves.
• Fold the silicone mat into two halves.
• Put the cloves of garlic between the silicone mat.
• Press and rub the silicone mat with your palm till you hear a crash/crack sound.

If the silicone mat is not available in your kitchen, you can use your pair of silicone gloves. Instead, they will also get the job done.

Eighth Method: Peeling with a Knife

Tools

• Paring knife

Steps

• Loosen the head of garlic by placing the sharp peeling knife inside the bulb itself.
• Separate the garlic cloves.
• Cut the brown part at the top of the clove.
• Cut the end of the garlic clove with your sharp knife.
• Cut the clove of garlic in half.
• Peel the papery skin away using the sharpest knife.

Peeling garlic is pretty easy now, isn’t it?

Ninth Method: Peeling Garlic With a Mallet

Tools

• Mallet
• Kitchen towel
• Flat surface/cutting board

Steps

• Break off the bulb and separate its cloves.
• Place the cloves on your cutting board.
• Cover the garlic cloves with a clean kitchen towel.
• Start to hit the garlic with the mallet 3 to 5 times (not too hard as you do not want to smash the garlic, but also not too gentle)
• Lift the towel and pee the papery skin.
• Use your fingers to peel the papery skin if necessary.

Tenth Method: Garlic Rubber/ Silicone Garlic Peeler

Tools

• Garlic rubber peeler

Steps

• Break off the garlic head and separate the cloves you need.
• Put the garlic clove in the center of the silicone garlic peeler.
• Press down on the clove of garlic and roll the peeler
• Take the clove out of the peeler and throw the waste..

If you have no time to waste on peeling garlic, the garlic peeler is the best, easiest and fastest option you can come through.

It is gonna cost you nothing but a few bucks, and let me tell you that it is really worth it.

Eleventh Method: Cutting The Garlic Head In Half

This technique is ideal if you don’t mind the cloves being cut in half, such as the times you are preparing recipes that need to slice/mince/chop garlic after peeling).

Tools

• Knife

Steps

• Using a sharp knife, cut the garlic head in half through the cloves (at the ‘equator’).
• Put the two halves, garlic side down, on your cutting board and firmly smash down on the garlic with the side of a wide knife. The idea is that the cloves will then release, allowing you to lift and remove all of the skin.

Twelfth Method: Slice Root Area

Actually, this is not the most amazing garlic peeling trick out there, but it comes in handy especially when you are preparing a variety of meals and want to peel the entire bulb garlic in one go.

All you need to do is to remove the root area with a sharp knife like a scalpel type of blade and apply quite a bit of force to press down on the head to get the cloves to release 

How To Pick Garlic?

Well, first of all, you need to make sure you get the best garlic you can find and fresh garlic is always preferable.

Avoid bulbs that appear shriveled and dry bulb with discolorations or brown spots should be avoided.

And when you get home with your perfectly picked garlic, store it in an open container in a dark, cool place, till using it to prepare your favorite dishes.

If you have ever talked to someone who had just eaten a kebab, from his garlic breath, you will get to know that garlic has a strong odor.

That’s a strong reason for you to keep your garlic separate from other foods that don’t need to smell like garlic breath!

A basket filled with onions will make an ideal home for your garlic.

How to Store Garlic?

Keep the bulbs of garlic as a whole

Keeping the fresh garlic bulbs as a whole at room temperature without breaking them is the best way to store the garlic and keep cloves for months

The life span of the entire bulb reduces once you break it off.

Store in the fridge

If the garlic is chopped, minced already, or has any peeled garlic, you can store it in a jar and keep it in the fridge or the freezer to prevent the smell of garlic from spreading inside the refrigerator.

Store garlic by pickling it

This technique requires you to keep the peeled garlic cloves inside a jar full of vinegar and salt and keep it in the fridge.

You can introduce pickled garlic with your different recipes and Bon appetite!

A Few of Our Favorite Garlic Recipes

• Garlic and mushroom sauce recipe
• Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes
• Olive Oil Garlic Bread
• Garlic Butter Shrimp Spaghetti
• Hummus Recipe
• Garlic Cilantro Oven Baked Salmon
• Shrimp Scampi
• Honey Garlic Chicken Bites
• Cauliflower Alfredo
• Buttery Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic
• Grilled Lemon Chicken
• Roasted Tomato Soup
• Baked Spaghetti
• Lebanese Garlic Sauce

FAQs About How to Easily Peel Garlic

Final Thoughts

After knowing how to easily peel garlic, I think you are ready now to cook super-duper delicious recipes using garlic, such as:

Sautéed, roasted, baked, and a variety of meals, yummy sauces, soups, marinades, and spice rubs.

You can also use minced garlic as a flavoring in sausages and meatballs recipes.