Garlic

While garlic presses have been designed to crush a few cloves of garlic, professional chefs need larger quantities and have a simple solution. Use a large chef’s knife to smash the cloves, making the removal of the skin very easy. Next chop the cloves roughly, sprinkle them with salt and use the flat of the knife to mash the garlic to a paste. Once garlic is crushed, it begins to change flavour and can become very strong and acrid; the salt absorbs the garlic oil released when it is crushed and so helps to preserve the natural flavour.