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[radfrac_archive_full]

sugarpunfairy, you were right.

Where in town can I get the most kickass garlic press you ever saw in your life?

(No, I don't use them. I am strictly a crush-and-chopper. But it transpires that an adored garlic press was lost in a breakup. I aim to redress that.)

(Oh and: Hi. I'm home. I didn't die. Reborn maybe.)

{rf}

Comments

[sugarpunfairy.livejournal.com]

Ikea probably has excellent ones.
So, have a good weekend?

Ikea?

[xcaro.livejournal.com]

Does Victoria have an Ikea again/now?

How is it that my ten years living in Victoria seem to have been bookended by the presence of Ikea in the city. How odd.

Re: Ikea?

[sugarpunfairy.livejournal.com]

Nope. We have no ikea. We're just going to Van on the weekend.

Re: Ikea?

[xcaro.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, that makes sense. I was remembering that there were always rumours that Ikea would return, but I guess they just built a bigger one in Richmond. Have fun in Vancouver!

Re: Ikea?

[radiantfracture]

Can I still come? When are you leaving?

{rf}

[inlandsea.livejournal.com]

I'm betting argus_in_tights has a more detailed answer, but until he posts:

it needs to be easy to use, and easy to clean. That last bit is very important, since garlic turns to concrete fairly quickly, so you have to be able to rinse it right after using without fiddling around too much.

don't buy the one with the square plastic head, for some reason the holes get clogged easily (as does the little pokey bit that pushes garlic remains out of the holes after squeezing)

make sure it's big enough to crush at least one clove at a time, maybe more

all metal construction, no plastic

having said that, I'm not sure which store in town would have one. I might be going to Ikea this weekend, after the conference.

I'd much rather crush than chop. Less smelly on the fingers that way...

[lemon-pickle.livejournal.com]

I bought a really good marble mortar and pestle ( http://importfood.com/media/mortar_and_pestle_namprik.jpg )a few years ago and threw my garlic press to the wolves. Every garlic press I've ever owned paled in comparison to the m&p in terms of both functionality, fun and cleaning. Cleaning's dead easy, just rinse. No finicky bits to scrape. Plus it's fun to bash stuff around with a big rock. Multi-tasks for chili peppers, ginger and as a spice mill. It also outshines the spice mill in all the categories above.

Most respondents strongly agreed that the mortar and pestle is well designed, produces outstanding results and is easy to clean (98%). One respondent did not choose or did not respond to the question (2%).

Get them in Chinatown for $20 or so, though I suspect this may not help you in time.

Much Love,
A Grumpy Bastard

[sugarpunfairy.livejournal.com]

Wow. How many people did you poll?
That does sound better than a press. I have to agree with inlandsea for the all metal thing.
No plastic.

[lemon-pickle.livejournal.com]

Well, it was an online survey so all the results are horse shit. Actually, it was just me. I answered the survey 50 times under new names.

I really like my mortar and pestle : )

Much Love,
A Grumpy Bastard

[onlynarisse.livejournal.com]

I concur, no plastic. Mine is all metal with a removable metal bit for easier cleaning. I recommend rinsing it in VERY HOT water right after use. Though I often don't follow this advice and Foxy wants to kill me if its her turn to do the dishes.

Mine also has big grippy rubber coatings on the handles for easier squishing.

I got it at Ikea and think they do still have some good ones.

The pestle and mortar sounds like an excellent idea, though. I have been meaning to get one for years and now that I know you can crush garlic in it I might be tempted to pick one up sooner, rather than later.

[chromemagpie.livejournal.com]

Jumping on the mortar and pestle bandwagon, here. They're relatively cheap and incredibly useful. And easy to clean.

And, please. You get to smash things. Where is the bad in that?

[sugarpunfairy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and you can get purty mortar and pestles.

[chromemagpie.livejournal.com]

[lemon-pickle.livejournal.com]

Yuh, but, really, there's something really great about having a kitchen tool that weighs 20+ pounds and hasn't changed at all in design in thousands of years.

I vote rock.

This is kind of like caveman vs, astronaut, is it not?

-AGB

[chromemagpie.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that for functionality, I'd vote good old fashioned rock. But this one's shiny...

[sugarpunfairy.livejournal.com]

That's sexy. But the stone ones are too . ..

[radiantfracture]

That is a thing of beauty.

Although would the metal make things taste funny?

{rf}

on the garlic press front

[xcaro.livejournal.com]

I love my old marble mortar and pestle, and I look eagerly forward to the day that I am unpacking my things which have been in storage in Saanich for years already, and find it amongst the one half of the wedding presents and the books and all that.

Myself, I have been through a rather large quantity of garlic presses. The OXO one looks promising, with nice big comfortable rubber handles, a large reservoir for the garlic and the much loathed plastic on the reverse side for a bit of cleaning. However, I have actually bought two of these and broken both. The reason? I used them for making pesto - I not only crushed the garlic but also the basil. Possibly, the good engineers at OXO didn't consider that I'd be exerting that much force on them, poor things, and they just came apart. Two of them.

My current favourite garlic press still lives, and it's a Swiss brand, Zyliss, and they make all kinds of good kitchen gadgets - I also have a nut chopper and an ice cream scoop they make. It's small, lightweight (aluminum perhaps?), no plastic, survived the pesto making (though still a little stained, oddly) until I bought a bloody food processor, finally. I think I bought this on amazon. Though I'm sure you could find it - where? Do they still have Ming Wo in Victoria?

Re: on the garlic press front

[chromemagpie.livejournal.com]

Sadly, we don't have a Ming Wo either. Tragic really. They have so many pretty shinies.

So for those keeping score... things we need before we can becomne the Republic of Vancouver Island: IKEA, Army and Navy, Ming Wo.

Up the Republic

[argus-in-tights.livejournal.com]

CM, do we really need and Army & Navy? Ah, well, we shall leave that discussion for later.

I also rather like the mortar and pestle notion. And despite the shiny, a good solid rock one would be my preference. Pesto, spices, and anybody who pisses you off can all be equally easily crushed in that clever stone age device.

If you're set on the press, though, I'm with xcaro on the Zyliss, and spotted one at the little kitchen display thingy at that horror we call a mall downtown. geniusoutlaws believes the stall to be called Kitchen Stock. We spent a merry half hour pawing over all their fun toys over the weekend. It can be found in the centre of one of the overhead walkways.

Frac, I'm delighted to hear you made it back in one piece. I'm not sure your adventure is what the Born Again folk had in mind, but I'll assume the experience was no less of a paradigm shift for you than for others when they find a saviour. Details follow at some point? I would have come to meet you at the dock and shower you with rose petals, but I was off in Saanich being Greek. I suppose I should make my own post on that subject. Perhaps later when I have a reliable signal and am using my own computer (and nobody is biting my arm...)

Adieu for now....

\i/