Technique: Chopping garlic

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Chopping garlic

Garlic is an extremely common ingredient. Chopping it should be a quick process to ensure that the garlic doesn't oxidize and take on bitter flavors. The quicker you chop, the more likely you'll be to avoid the strong smell of garlic that fingers and cutting boards often take on after garlic has been chopped. One of the more common methods used to chop garlic is a rendition of the dicing onion method. However, most garlic cloves are very small, which makes that method difficult. This method is slightly simpler, and developed to work well with small garlic cloves.

Once you have a peeled garlic clove with the top removed, place the clove down on the cutting board with the flattest side down. Slice the garlic into very thin slices. Do your best to slice the garlic into identically-sized slices. The more consistent the thickness of the slices, the less likely you will be to burn your garlic while cooking with it.

At this point, you could quit chopping and use these slices in many recipes.

To continue for a finer dice, put the knife on the side of the garlic furthest from yourself. Position the top of the blade so that it sits under your hand with the blade lining up to the middle of your fingers. Keep your hand firm and steady; your thumb should be out and away from the blade. With quick chopping movements, raise the handle of the blade up, and then down into the garlic.

Repeat this step over and over again; chopping different areas of the garlic, until the garlic has reached a size you are happy with.

Be careful not to have some large pieces and some small pieces. All of the pieces need to be about the same size to ensure consistency while cooking.