• Garlic presses, rockers, and graters help you prepare garlic with ease so you can season your cooking with fresh cloves.
  • The Alpha Grillers Garlic Press is the best one you can buy because it’s as easy to use as it is to clean, and it makes quick work of garlic cloves.

There’s just no substitute for that distinctive garlic flavor that seems to perk up just about any dish. But as much as you want that garlic flavor in your food, you don’t want it stinking up your hands. That’s where a good garlic press comes in handy.

When picking your ideal garlic press, you’ll want to keep a few things in mind. First off, how often are you going to be utilizing this device? If it’s every day, you’ll probably want something a bit sturdier and made of stainless steel, or another metal. If you’re only pressing garlic occasionally, perhaps a plastic version will do.

You’ll also want to think about how much garlic you use at once. If many of your favorite recipes call for clove upon clove of garlic, you’ll want a press with a larger chamber capable of handling a lot of garlic at once.

Finally, you’ll want to think about how easy it is to clean your garlic press. After all, there’s no purpose in getting a device that is meant to keep your hands away from the pungent odors if you’re just going to have to wash it by hand later. Getting a dishwasher-safe press, or something that you can quickly run under the faucet, is definitely the way to go.

Here are the best garlic presses:

Prices and links are current as of 8/3/20. We added a product showcase at the top of the guide so you can shop all our picks more easily. We also added a selection of related buying guides.

The best overall

The Alpha Grillers Garlic Press minces garlic like a professional, can press several cloves at once, and comes with a silicone peeling tool.

If there's any consensus around garlic presses, it's around this one from Alpha Grillers. This best-selling device is made from durable stainless steel and is capable of crushing several cloves of garlic at once.

The complete set comes with both a peeler and a press so that you can deal with your garlic without any skin-to-skin contact whatsoever. In order to peel a clove, just insert the garlic into the silicone roller, and roll it back and forth until the skin comes right off. Then, move the peeled garlic into the large basket of the press, and squeeze.

It's supremely easy to use, which means that if you're looking for a way to involve your kiddos in the cooking process, this is a great way to start. Rest assured that your garlic will come out uniformly minced no matter who is doing the pressing.

If you'd prefer not to peel your garlic before pressing it, that's fine, too. You'll probably have to exert just a bit more force to ensure that your garlic comes out finely minced, but it'll still work just as well. And of course, this mincer works well on other staple ingredients, too. If you don't want to chop ginger on your own, you can use the Alpha Grillers set for that, too.

When you're done using the press, just open up the basket and give it a rinse in your sink, or run it through the dishwasher.

Pros: Great looking set, comes with both a peeler and a mincer, easy to use, dishwasher safe

Cons: Some users have noted that garlic can go flying from the press if you're not careful

The best high-end garlic press

Foto: Source: Kuhn Rikon

The Kuhn Rikon Epicurean Garlic Press requires noticeably less effort than other garlic presses, so if you're crushing a lot of cloves, it will be worth it.

Made entirely out of stainless steel, the Kuhn Rikon Epicurean Garlic Press really differentiates itself from the competition in terms of its construction. It looks like a serious piece of kitchen equipment, and will act like one, too, on both garlic and ginger (or just about anything else you throw its way).

You don't have to worry about peeling garlic cloves in order to get a fine mince from the Kuhn Rikon. The press purports to require 60% less effort to use than your standard press, and while I can't verify that exact figure, it is indeed the case that the Kuhn Rikon requires noticeably less effort.

This press was designed to fit in the palm of one hand, which means that you shouldn't have to use all your might in order to mince your garlic. Plus, the flip-out basket of this press makes it easier to clean than many competitors, and you don't have to worry about getting into the nooks and crannies of the basket. Just swing out the stainless steel sieve when you're done, and give it a rinse.

Another great design aspect comes in the form of its beveled holes, which will carefully cut your garlic without bruising it. And just as unbruised herbs are the best herbs, unbruised garlic is the best tasting garlic.

The Kuhn Rikon is also dishwasher safe, and boasts a two-year warranty should anything go wrong.

Pros: 100% stainless steel construction, swiveling sieve makes for easy cleanup, requires much less force than other presses

Cons: Expensive

The best comfort-grip garlic press

Foto: Source: OXO

Thanks to its soft grip handles, the OXO Good Grips Garlic Press is one of the most user-friendly out there.

If you're crushing clove after clove of garlic, the last thing you want is to hurt your hand in the process. Some garlic presses, despite being extremely efficient, are also decidedly uncomfortable, what with their metal construction that is as hard on your palms as it is on bulbs of garlic. But that's certainly not the case with the OXO Good Grips Garlic Press.

This press keeps hand comfort front and center in its design. The action portion of the OXO is made of die-cast zinc, but the handles are rubberized, which makes them extremely comfortable to hold. They're also non-slip and capable of absorbing pressure, which really did make a difference when squeezing particularly stubborn bulbs.

The OXO also comes with a large capacity chamber capable of holding multiple cloves at once, and I found that I was able to get quite a solid mince thanks to the efficiently placed holes. Another great design feature? The built-in cleaner. When you've minced all you can, just rotate the handles and the cleaner will push out whatever's left. Of course, if you want to be extra sure that your press is clean, you can run the OXO through the dishwasher, too.

Pros: Very comfortable to use, built-in cleaner, capable of crushing unpeeled garlic, relatively inexpensive

Cons: While the OXO is comfortable, it's not necessarily ergonomically designed

The best rocker

Foto: Source: Fu Store

The Fu Store 304 Stainless Steel Garlic Press Mincer is a single piece of stainless steel that's easy to use and even easier to clean.

As it turns out, there are multiple ways to mince your garlic, and not all of them involve a garlic chamber and two handles that you press together. Rather, there are also rocker models. Most notably, there's the Fu Store 304 Stainless Steel Garlic Press Mincer, which comes with a bonus food-grade silicone peeler.

While most garlic presses have multiple moving parts, the rocker design is far more straight forward, and, some would argue, easier to use. Think of it as an apple cutter, but instead of slicing fruit, you're slicing garlic bulbs. Simply place your clove (or cloves) underneath the carefully placed series of holes, and rock the stainless steel Fu Store Mincer back and forth. You'll end up crushing your garlic, all without having to touch it. You will, however, have to transfer your minced garlic from your cutting board to your pan.

While I've found that this rocker works perfectly well without peeling your garlic first, this package deal does come with a bonus silicone peeler. Just pop some garlic into the little pink tube, roll it around for a bit, and you'll be peeling your garlic without fear of getting any stink under your nails.

Over 300 customers on Amazon have given this set an impressive 4.3 out of five stars, and considering the low price and the great functionality, it's easy to see why.

Pros: Affordable, extremely easy to use, comes with a bonus garlic peeler

Cons: Using the rocking method sometimes bruises the garlic, keeps the stink away from your hands, but not your cutting board

The best chopper

Foto: Source: Chef'n

With its rotating blade action, the Chef'n GarlicZoom Garlic Chopper dices your garlic finer and finer the more you roll.

You may not think much of the Chef'n GarlicZoom Garlic Chopper when you look at it. After all, it's made of plastic and looks a bit like a Happy Meal toy. But before you go passing judgments, you may want to put this ingenious little device to the test. As its name suggests, this Garlic Chopper doesn't mince your garlic by smashing it through tiny holes, but instead passes your cloves through tiny blades that actually cut up the bulbs so that the mincework looks a lot more like you did it with a real knife.

The GarlicZoom may just be one of the easiest gadgets to use. Simply place peeled garlic in the chamber, and then start rolling. This motion will set the blades inside the device in motion, and the more you roll, the finer the mince. Conversely, if you just roll it a couple times, you'll end up with a rougher chop. This is fantastic for folks who want to vary the sizes of their resulting garlic pieces. While most garlic presses give you exactly one option when it comes to the kind of cut you'll receive at the end, the GarlicZoom actually gives you some control over the finished product, which makes it perfect for a wide range of recipes.

The newest version of the GarlicZoom also comes with more gearing, which promises to make rolling easier, as well as larger finger holds so that you don't have to worry about cutting yourself when you take out the blades for a spin in the dishwasher.

Plus, the GarlicZoom can also mince ginger as well as other herbs, all with enough precision to avoid bruising.

Pros: Extremely easy to use, great control over the mince size, dishwasher safe, inexpensive

Cons: Some may not like the toy-like appearance of the GarlicZoom, more difficult to clean than presses

The best garlic grater

Foto: Source: Naturally Med

The Naturally Med Garlic Grater Set makes quick work of garlic, turning it into a juicy paste.

If you don't have the hand strength for a traditional garlic press or roller, you may like a garlic grater dish like this one by Naturally Med. It's a simple ceramic dish with ticks in a circular pattern that are just sharp enough to grate garlic but not sharp enough to hurt your fingers as you grate the cloves.

This garlic grater is much better than any press I've tried. It keeps the garlic's juices in and creates a creamy garlic paste that can be applied directly to toast for garlic bread. If you throw olive oil on it, it's even better.

It comes with a brush so you can remove the garlic from the dish and it also has a silicone garlic peeler to help you get the skin off each clove. The dish is very easy to clean with warm water and soap when you're done using it.

On the negative side, it won't save your fingers from the garlic smell as you do have to hold onto the clove as you grate it. - Malarie Gokey

Pros: Easy to use, effective, keeps the juice of the garlic, easy to clean

Cons: You have to touch the garlic as you grate, so it won't save your hands from the smell

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Foto: Source: Amazon

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