Sandra Lise, Pêches & Poivre, 89 Mill Street
The Garlic Rocker. That is what this revolutionary new garlic tool made by Joseph Joseph is called. I like cooking with garlic, and now, I like cooking with garlic even more!
It was love at first sight when Tim, our Danesco and Joseph Joseph rep. was showing us around his booth at last winter’s trade show. I don’t usually get taken by gadgets, as in ‘I am not a gadget person’, but this one had me before I even got to use it. Tim handed me the ‘rocker’. It was sleek and elegant, with lovely honeycomb shaped perforations in the central area to let the garlic come through, a visually beautiful design, it felt good in my hand at once, a solid feel, and smooth.
We ordered a dozen right away for our shop, Peches & Poivre in Almonte, and I waited expectantly for our goodies to arrive. Eleven were backordered! But there was one. And that was enough for me. Even the box the stainless version is packaged in is elegant and would make a beautiful presentation as a gift. I slid open the box and there she was – now I would finally get to put her to the test and see if she was more than just good-looking.
I took the 7”, gently curved rocker out of the box and again admired the elegance of its simple design. I peeled a clove of garlic, put it on my cutting board, took the ‘rocker’ in both hands and put the honeycomb perforations over the garlic, pushed down and ‘rocked’ the rocker back and forth a couple of times. WOW! Crushed garlic came oozing out above the perforations. An easy swipe of a spoon or knife and it was in my pan.
I tried another clove and a third, with no cleaning in between, and the garlic just kept oozing out. Absolutely the quickest, simplest, most efficient, and effective way to crush/press garlic I have ever come across in my fifty whatever years (40+ of which has seen a lot of garlic crushed in a traditional (somewhat frustrating) garlic press – you probably know the one I mean).
Now when I need garlic in what I’m cooking, I actually usually double or triple the amount because I have so much fun with, yes, my gadget! This is one I will ask my ‘loved ones’ to put in the grave with me.
With the Garlic Rockers back in stock now, we received our order just in time for garlic season and fall and winter cooking. There are two versions, my beautiful moulded solid stainless steel, and a BPA-free plastic version with a stainless insert. Drop into Peches & Poivre at 89 Mill Street and I would be thrilled to do a demo for you and let you try it for yourself. We now also have on hand about 100 bulbs of locally grown, herbicide and pesticide free garlic from Hidden 58 Farm near Clayton.
Thanks for reading, Sandra
