The Garlic Peeling Hack That Lets You Get Out Any Pent-Up Energy

Watch any cooking competition long enough and you know working in the kitchen can be a very physical activity. While there's something therapeutic about methodically preparing your ingredients for a meal, sometimes you just need to shake things up and work off some extra energy. Separating a garlic bulb and peeling the cloves provides just such an opportunity. It's normally pretty tedious to try and cleave off individual cloves, cut the ends off each one, and work off the papery skins, bit by bit. The more cloves you need to peel, the less fun it gets.

Fortunately, there are a number of peeling hacks for when you're cooking with garlic. With advance notice, you can soak cloves in water overnight, and the skins will slide right off. If you're planning on mincing the garlic, you can smash the whole clove with the flat side of a knife and pull away the cracked and loosened skins before finishing the mincing. But if your goal is whole, clean cloves, shaking them in a large jar or between two bowls is the way to go. It takes seconds to peel a bunch of cloves at once and wakes up your Fitbit for a few extra exercise points.

This hack works with whole bulbs or just a few cloves, but is ideal when you've got a lot to peel. It works best with fresh garlic, as it gets harder to remove the brittle skins as the garlic dries. To quickly separate a whole bulb or head of garlic into individual cloves, you need a metal mixing bowl with a flat bottom. Set the clove on a sturdy cutting board, and with both hands, grip the lip of the bowl like it's a steering wheel. Hold the bowl above the garlic and come down firmly on top of it with the flat bottom. Pound down two or three times, and the cloves should break apart. Finish separating them by hand.

Then place the cloves (skins and all) into the bowl, or into a sealable quart-sized jar. If you're using a bowl, place another bowl inverted on top so you've created a sphere. With a canning jar, tighten the lid. Grip the sides of your bowl-sphere or jar and shake vigorously for 10 or 20 seconds (imagine you're shaking up a cocktail). And that should do it! If not, shake for another round. The skins should have slid completely off, leaving you with clean, ready-to-use cloves (remember to cut the hard ends off). If you've got leftover cloves, it's not a problem. Store extras in a sealed container, refrigerate, and use within one week, or freeze for up to six months. Or, double up the garlic for an ultra-flavorful garlic bread.