Kennedy swears that the Garlic Rocker is the product that set the initial bar on what would be a certifiable Cool Tool: one of the tools that got us started in this business. We love its different approach to preparing garlic in the best possible way for sauteing ‘crispy bits’ for all manner of dishes.
A garlic press? One popular expert says ‘who needs one?’ We think you need one of these! This beauty from Joseph Joseph takes an entirely different approach to delivering crushed garlic for better cooking and easier cleanup.
So what are the issues with garlic presses? Almost every other garlic press delivers garlic ‘puree’ through small holes: not the sort of fine chop or brunoise that crisps up nicely in your saute pan and retains its character in your recipe. The small ‘bowls’ of those other presses also limit the quantity that you can ‘press’ at one time, before you’re required to stick your fingers in the bowl and scrape out the unpressed stuff. And then your finger smells like garlic for hours, right? I love garlic, but not as a cologne! And finally, all those others are a pain to clean, sometimes with an attached rubber thing that invariably gets detached or lost in your drawer. We all have one or more of these things and they are not the best tools in your drawer. But that should not drive you back to side-of-the-knife ‘whacking’ and chopping.
The Joseph Joseph Rocker™ is wonderful combination of beauty, simplicity, and functionality. Whether you crush cloves that are unpeeled or peeled - our preference - this tool has sharp [but not too sharp] edges around larger than average holes that yield bigger pieces that crisp up nicely in your pan. This makes for better garlic flavor in your recipes and retains the garlic as a visible ingredient in your dish. The Rocker also acts as its own mise-en-place container, holding the crushed garlic in the curve of the tool, to be simply scraped off into the saute pan with a small spoon [or your finger, if you really want that taste on your body!] Unless you’re doing one of those ‘40 cloves’ dishes - and most of those don’t require crushed garlic - you can do all your crushing without having to cleanup after each 2-3 cloves like the usual presses. The larger holes also allow easy cleanup under running water. And then, as an added bonus, you can remove the smell of garlic from your fingers by rubbing the beautiful stainless steel!
In summary: high design? you bet! Highly functional? Completely! Worth the price and space in your drawer? Absolutely! When you throw out all those old garlic presses, you’ll make plenty of room for this wonderful tool from the innovative folks at Joseph Joseph.
Facts:
- Stainless Steel
- 7.5”L x 1.6”W x1”H
