Anyone who loves to cook knows about garlic hands, the unfortunate situation that happens when, despite your best efforts, you just can't seem to scrub off the scent of those pungent-smelling cloves. Just the other day I found myself peeling and mashing a a lot of garlic for a new chicken recipe, and even though I diligently washed my digits afterwards, my husband still caught a whiff of my hands that night while we were in bed reading. Yeah, it wasn't cool. So, when I heard about this versatile twisting garlic kitchen gadget that promised to eradicate my garlic hands for good, I was all in.
The Garlic Twister 4th Generation ($20, Amazon) might not look that revolutionary but let me tell you, this ergonomically designed gadget is a workhorse in the kitchen. Made by NexTrend, a California kitchenware design company, the garlic twister is a six-time industry award-winner, according to the brand website. So what makes it so great? Let's start with the fact that it removes the garlic peel quickly: simply place your clove under the twister and gently (or aggressively, if you've had a bad day), smash the clove to release the skin.
From there, you simply place the clove inside and twist, and it grates the garlic to the fineness you're looking for. It literally minces every last bit of the clove — or cloves since it's large enough to accommodate several. That's thanks to some smart design features, like strengthened beveled teeth, placed in both the lid and base, for more efficient cutting. I've used plenty of effective garlic mincers in my day, but they all leave residue in the back, which is just a pain to scoop out and clean. This twister not only has a wide opening for easy scooping, but cleaning it is as easy as washing a salad plate.
With a solid 4.5-star review on Amazon, from more than 70 customers, you know that this kitchen tool — which is available in three colors: clear, neon green, and pink — has been put to the test. "My knife skills aren't great, but mainly I wanted to avoid smelly hands from cutting garlic. This Twister works exactly as described and makes the job a breeze. As recommended, I always rinse it before any garlic bits dry on it. Then I wash it on the top rack of the dishwasher. My only regret is that I didn't know about this a long time ago," explained Amazon customer, Penny Eubank.
Another Amazon user, MsJill, had this to say: "Best garlic mincer ever! I’ve tried several different types over the years, but they’ve always had one problem or another like wasting too much of the garlic or being a pain in the backside to clean. This one is simple to use, simple to get the garlic out of (I use a tiny rubber spatula), and an actual breeze to clean. Could not be happier!"
What's more, the Garlic Twister, despite its name, is actually quite multi-functional. You can use it to chop ginger, nuts, shallots, olives, and more. Even though ginger doesn't leave my hands smelling funky, I usually struggle to chop it to the fineness I want, but this tool gets the job done perfectly. Knowing that it was multi-purpose helped me justify dropping $20 on small kitchen gadget.
If you're ready to say goodbye to garlic hands for good, you're going to want to invest in this rockstar kitchen tool.
