Home › Home & Kitchen › Kitchen & Dining › Cutlery & Knife Accessories › Chef's Knives How to Mince Garlic Published: July 9, 2026 · Updated: July 9, 2026
Photo: Michael Browning CC0 1.0 Source
Smash each clove under the flat of a chef's knife to pop off the skin, then slice it thin, cut across into small pieces, and rock the blade back and forth over the pile until it's fine. A knife is all you need — no garlic press — and a pinch of salt dragged under the blade turns it into a smooth paste.
Recommended Smash to peel, slice thin, then rock the chef's knife over the pile until fine — add salt for a paste — Mincing garlic well is a knife skill, not a gadget, and a chef's knife does it faster and with more control than a press. Start by separating a clove and laying it under the flat side of the blade, then give it a firm thump with the heel of your hand: the clove cracks and the papery skin slips off, and it flattens slightly so it's easier to cut. Trim off the hard root end. Slice the clove into thin slivers lengthways, then turn and cut across those to make small dice. Now gather the pieces into a pile and mince: grip the handle, rest your other hand flat on the top of the blade near the tip, and rock the knife up and down and across the pile, sweeping it back together every so often, until it's as fine as you want. Rocking cuts the garlic cleanly, whereas crushing it in a press bruises it and gives a sharper, more bitter flavor. For a smooth paste — good for dressings and sauces — sprinkle a pinch of coarse salt over the mince and drag the flat of the blade across it repeatedly; the salt is an abrasive that breaks it down. Rub your hands and the board with lemon or stainless steel afterwards to cut the smell, and if you mince garlic often, do a whole head and freeze or oil-store the extra.
