This Might Be The Quickest And Easiest Way To Peel Garlic

For garlic lovers, garlic can make just about any recipe taste better. But the "natural packaging" garlic comes in isn't the most convenient. The stubborn garlic peels (or skins, as some call them) that encase the bulbs can be tedious and time-consuming to remove.

Maybe you've seen celebrity chefs smash cloves with the flat part of a knife and have tried to mirror this technique at home. Maybe you're a home cook who carefully peels their garlic cloves to get them prepped in advance. Or, if you're like us, you end up slicing too much off the clove in a poor attempt to quickly discard those pesky outer layers.

Garlic boasts plenty of health-enhancing benefits and the way you cut, slice, chop, grind, mince or smash your cloves can impact how it will show up in your meal (per Food and Health). If you haven't quite figured out how strong you want garlic to flavor tonight's Butter Chicken and are pressed for time, Executive Chef Cassidee Dabney has an idea for you. 

Hold the garlic carefully and cut off thin edges from both sides of the garlic head, instructs Chef Dabney (via People). Then, place the bulk of the garlic into a jar with a secure lid. Be sure the top is fastened tightly, as you're going to put that container to work. Once you're certain the lid is solid, shake furiously. We're serious: relieve yourself from the day's stresses and shake that jar. In time, garlic cloves will emerge. You'll feel better, too. 

If you don't have a mason jar or can't seem to find any lid that fits the container in hand, use what you can find. Food Wishes suggests placing two bowls together to peel 20 garlic cloves in 20 seconds. At that rate, you'll probably have a few cloves leftover. Store them carefully to use the next time you're in a rush in the kitchen.