A Little Salt Goes a Long Way
If you watch videos of chefs chopping garlic, from work-a-day professionals to the high-profile likes of Gordon Ramsay, you’ll often see them sprinkle salt on their cutting board as they work. Home cooks can benefit from the habit too, as it makes the messy job of chopping or mincing garlic easier and quicker.
You can start by either smashing your garlic clove with the side of your knife (which also helps with peeling it), or cutting it into thin slices. Then sprinkle just a pinch or two of salt over it. Regular table salt is fine — you don’t need anything fancy. You’ll find that as you chop, the salt stops the garlic from sticking as badly to your knife blade. It’s partly thanks to the physical friction, and partly because salt helps draw the juices out of the garlic.
Finer Chop, Better Results
This is less necessary if you’re simply slicing the garlic or chopping it coarsely. But when a recipe calls for a fine mince, or especially a smooth paste — the kind you can beat into garlic butter — salt really speeds up the process.
For a paste, drag the flat side of your blade across the garlic, holding it at a slight angle (not quite flat). The pressure of the knife’s edge, combined with the abrasion of the salt crystals, breaks down the garlic faster than chopping would. The resulting paste is packed with bold garlic flavor that spreads rapidly and evenly through stir-fries, soups, and other dishes.
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