If you’re cooking dinner for your family, making homemade salad dressings or marinades, or just stocking up on groceries for the week, there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself reaching for garlic. This aromatic allium adds so much flavor to dishes and a little really does go a long way. Although it’s inexpensive and readily available in every grocery store (here’s the best way to store garlic once you get it home), there is one major downside to cooking with garlic. No matter what recipe you’re making, garlic can be kind of a pain to prep. Peeling the papery skins off of garlic cloves is never an easy task, nor is it a pleasant one. Plus, it often means that your fingers—and possibly even your kitchen tools—will smell like raw garlic for days.
There are a number of different ways to peel garlic for garlic recipes including smashing each one with a knife to expose the clove. However, there’s one kitchen hack that makes it easier and faster than ever. Read on for a genius garlic peeling tip that pro chefs and home cooks alike swear by.
How to Peel Garlic in Seconds
Whether you’re adding a couple of cloves of garlic to a skillet meal or you need a whole bunch for a braised chicken dish, there is one easy way to peel garlic in seconds. Put the cloves in a Mason jar or similar airtight container and seal the lid tightly. Give the jar a good shake for 15 to 30 seconds (as if you’re shaking up a cocktail!) and watch as the skins come right off. The motion of the garlic rattling against the sides of the jar helps to loosen the skins and cause them to slip right off. Not only is this method fast, but it also keeps your countertops clean and prevents the garlic aroma from lingering on your hands for days.
It’s worth noting this trick works best when you’re peeling a larger batch of cloves at once, since more garlic in the jar creates more friction. But it’s still worth trying with just a few cloves—you may just need to shake a little longer.
Once you’re done, dump everything onto a cutting board and separate the cloves from the skins so none of the papery bits end up in your dish.
