This week, Value for Money compares a range of garlic crushers.
Garlic Card €4.25
Highs: This is a very cheap credit card-sized plastic device that promises much by way of convenience. It is easy to clean and comes in a range of cheery colours. It will take up virtually no space in your cupboard and if you ever feel the need to grate garlic on the move then this is definitely the option for you, although we can't think of any circumstance when mushing raw garlic on the hoof would be remotely desirable.
Lows: While it does work, to a degree, there are far more effective ways to grate, crush or slice garlic than rubbing it furiously against a plastic card. It was time-consuming and fiddly and we lost count of the number of times we let the increasingly mushy garlic cloves slip from our garlicky fingers.
Verdict: Not for us
Star rating: **
Amco Garlic Press and Slicer €27.95
Highs: This cleverly designed, funky-looking option offers more by way of variety than the competition. It has two separate compartments, one for crushing and one for slicing. While the press is fine, the slicer is really what makes this worth considering as it creates eight perfectly thin slices every time.
It comes with a cleaning attachment, but that might not be necessary as it is dishwasher-friendly.
Lows: The cleaning attachment, while nattily attached to the handle, is the sort of thing that will get lost in your cupboards and resurface years later, mystifying you as to its original purpose. The separate hinges for the press and the slicer can get in each other's way - which we found to be an admittedly minor inconvenience - and it is on the large side.
Verdict: A fine slicer
Star rating: ****
Chef 'N' Garlic Machine €9.95
Highs: So this is what happens when you cross a pepper mill with a garlic press. You just place cloves of garlic in the tube (we reckon it takes at least two average-sized bulbs) and keep it in the fridge and when you need freshly pressed garlic you just twist the handle. It does give you fresh garlic fairly easily - once the tube is fully loaded - without bothering with knives, chopping boards or fingers left reeking of garlic, and it is pretty keenly priced.
Lows: It is not the easiest thing in the world to clean and we fear it might be just a little gimmicky. We would also have concerns about the freshness of the cloves unless they are used fairly regularly. The tube isn't vacuum sealed so if kept full it might leave a garlicky smell in your fridge.
Verdict: Too gimmicky
Star rating: **
Oxo Good Grip Garlic Press €17.95
Highs: This is a no-nonsense product and while it lacks some of the frills of the competition - it doesn't slice, dice or look like a medieval torture device - it does press garlic with ease and feels like a product that will last. It has soft, rubberised handles and its heavy weight makes crushing a fairly straightforward process. It is also dishwasher safe and has a large chamber that can fit four or five garlic cloves without difficulty. It is also the most widely available of the brands we tried.
Lows: It is very heavy and might prove to be a little unwieldy for some wrists and, for €17.95, we could expect something just a little fancier.
Verdict: A fine product
Star rating: ***
Alligator mini cutter €22.95
Highs: This created a very poor first impression as it looks cheap, flimsy and far too bulky and was, we thought, the kind of useless kitchen utensil that a whole host of fast-talking Cockneys spend their lives flogging on the late-night shopping channels. But we were wrong. It is big and bulky but it is also genuinely useful for chopping garlic, small onions, radishes and - most importantly, we reckon - chilli. It is both lightweight and simple and also pretty ingenious. It is also very simple to clean.
Lows: It is on the big side, as we mentioned, and on the dear side, and while we like it now it could all too easily end up sulking at the back of our cupboard alongside the briefly loved potato slicer we bought from fast-talking Cockney a long, long time ago.
Verdict: Excellent
Star rating: *****
