How to Separate Garlic Cloves

How to Separate Garlic Cloves

Garlic bulbs are tough little guys.  The ones you want to buy (the freshest) are tightly packed together, with good strong skins.  The only problem is once you get the bulb home, pulling off a few cloves put’s breaking a finger at risk, or grabbing a knife to cut into the whole thing and risk wasting some cloves.

Well, there’s actually a pretty simple way to break up a bulb, which I demonstrate in this video.  By applying a good amount of pressure to the top of the bulb (the pointy side) you can usually bust apart the cloves pretty easily, and then use the individual cloves as needed.  If you’d like, instead of pressing down with your hands, use a cutting board or frying pan.

I’ve seen this technique used pretty frequently.  My contribution? Keep the whole bulb in a plastic bag while you break it apart.  That way all the “paper” and skin surrounding the bulb stays in the bag, and you’ve got no additional clean up.

Enjoy!!