Preparing garlic for any meal is enough to try anyone’s patience, from peeling sticky garlic skins from individual cloves to the inevitable, pungent odor left on your fingertips after slicing, mincing, or even pressing garlic. While some cooks chalk it up as a small price to pay for fantastic flavor, there is a way to avoid the dreaded stinky hand syndrome. If you peel and freeze garlic cloves ahead of time and chop them up straight from the freezer, it drastically reduces the stink.
There’s a reason why that strong, garlicky odor sticks to your hands. Garlic contains significant quantities of sulfur-containing compounds which are released when you chop or crush a clove while cooking. More specifically, one compound called allicin binds quite easily with the protein molecules in your skin, which is why chopped or broken garlic is so sticky and the smell clings to your fingertips. Freezing peeled cloves reduces the amount of juice expressed while chopping or crushing garlic.
Preparation is key to keep your hands from smelling like garlic
As with most kitchen tasks, preparation is key when it comes to garlic. When you bring home a whole head or bulb of garlic from the grocery store, break it apart and peel it like a chef. Then, place the whole cloves in a freezer-safe plastic bag or container. When you’re ready to cook, there’s no need to defrost — simply chop the frozen garlic cloves straight from the freezer. There is a trade off, though, as freezing can mellow the garlicky flavor. However, not only will you notice significantly less odor but your garlic will last longer. Stored in a cool, dry spot, an entire, unbroken bulb will last up to six months, but as soon as you break it open to pull out a clove or three, the shelf life is reduced to approximately three weeks. Meanwhile, frozen cloves of garlic can last for up to one year.
If your food prep game is strong, freezing garlic is an excellent solution, but there are some tried-and-true tricks to removing the garlicky odor from your hands after the fact. You could remove garlic odor like Martha Stewart by rubbing stainless steel on your skin, washing your hands in a paste made from baking soda and salt, or even rinsing your fingers in mouthwash. No matter how you manage to remove that garlicky smell from your hands, in the end we know the flavor is well worth the effort.
