How to mince garlic to add flavor to any dish

• The intensity of garlic flavor in a dish is directly correlated with how finely it is chopped.
• The best knife for crushing, peeling, and mincing garlic is a large, heavy chef's knife.
• Peel garlic with a quick smash of a knife, a garlic roller, or with two aluminum bowls.

Garlic is a versatile and staple bedrock ingredient that can lend incredible flavor to any cuisine — not to mention its myriad health benefits. But the amount of flavor garlic can give a dish is dependent on how you cut it.

Chef and pitmaster, Alex Smith, says that when cutting garlic, an enzyme called allinaise is released, which then converts amino acids to allicin. "Allicin is what gives garlic its distinct sharpness and scent," Smith says, explaining that "mincing garlic is the best way to impart ... strong garlic flavor into a dish."

The more finely you chop garlic, the more allicin is created and the stronger the garlic flavor will be. Finely mincing garlic will inject a wealth of flavor into a dish, but Smith explains that a "rough chop" can infuse a more subtle tone that's more of a background note.

Quick tip: Generally, one clove equals about 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, but Smith notes that this conversion can vary depending on clove size.

How to mince fresh garlic with a knife

1. Loosen the garlic clove from the head with your hands. There's a natural distinction on the bulb which notes where you should pull or break off a clove.
2. Crush and peel the garlic clove. Smith says to "give the clove a light tap with the flat side of a knife [and] the skin will loosen right up and can be easily peeled." Remove the papery skin and trim off the hard root end.
3. Roughly chop the garlic. To begin, roughly chop each garlic clove into a few smaller pieces to break them up and make the next step easier. Gather up the pieces into a pile.
4. Use a rocking motion to mince. Place the blade of the knife onto the cutting board, and place your free hand on top of the blade. Roll the blade of the knife back and forth through the pile of garlic using a rocking motion in order to further chop the cloves. Pile up the chopped cloves and repeat the process until the garlic is minced to your desired size.

Remember: Garlic is tiny, so be mindful when chopping so you don't harm yourself. Be careful to keep your fingers clear of the knife.

Alternative peeling methods

If you need to peel a lot of garlic at once, Smith says you can place all the cloves in a small aluminum bowl. Cover with another aluminum bowl, and shake vigorously. Shaking the cloves between the bowls agitates them and loosens the skin, making it easier for garlic cloves to be peeled en masse.

"Within a couple of shakes, all or most of the skins will be removed," Smith says.

There are also various kitchen gadgets you can use to peel your cloves. For example, a garlic "roller" is one of the most popular, which allows for the clove to be crushed and/or agitated, helping the skin slip off easier.

Quick tip: If you find garlic aroma on your hands after mincing to be absolutely odious, rub your hands against stainless steel, such as the inside of your sink. You could also rub some lemon juice on your hands. The acid should help to neutralize the smell.

Alternative ways to mince garlic quickly

Garlic presses are very popular, consistent, and work well when it comes to mincing garlic. Smith notes that when pressed, a garlic paste is created. Minced garlic and garlic paste are essentially interchangeable, but paste is a bit smoother and releases more liquid, which results in garlic flavor permeating the dish even further.

A Microplane, on the other hand, results in very, very finely minced garlic — probably finer than you'd be able to get unless you are the world's best mincer. Both are great options when you're looking for super-finely minced garlic for a dish.

Quick tip: Raw garlic is "far more pungent than cooked," says Smith, so be mindful of adding too much when incorporating it into raw dishes like salsas, guacamole, salad dressings.

Tips and notes

• There are two types of garlic: hardneck and softneck. Smith says that hardneck has a stronger flavor and produces large cloves. Softneck is more subtle with smaller cloves — but it keeps longer.
• "Like all vegetables, garlic has sugar. Also like all vegetables, it can be roasted and caramelized to bring out the sweetness," according to Smith. Try throwing an entire head of garlic in the oven — after about an hour, the cloves will be like velvet and will squeeze right out.
• Smith says that when purchasing garlic, always opt for "garlic that is firm to the touch," since "soft garlic has usually begun to sprout and will lose its pungency."
• Burnt garlic is "bitter and acrid," says Smith. Any dish that starts with a base of burnt garlic will be permeated with that flavor. If you think you stepped away from the stove for a bit too long, just start over. There's no saving burnt garlic.

Insider's takeaway

A powerhouse ingredient that packs a wallop of flavor and nutritional benefit, garlic is an indelible inclusion in a host of different cuisines. It adds a burst of intense flavor or a subtle hint of its flavor profile, depending on how many cloves are included in the dish and how finely they're chopped.

To mince garlic, peel the cloves, chop them into pieces, then rock your knife blade through the chopped garlic until it's as small as you'd like.