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2torial #0857:
Learn2 Prepare
Garlic (Continued)
Part 4: Mince garlic
When you set out to mince garlic, you can end
with a pile of neatly minced garlic or a cutting
board with garlic chunks of various sizes spread
all over the place. The key to ending with a neat
pile lies in two techniques: the finger position of
the hand that holds the garlic, and the slicing
motion of the knife. The result will be tiny cubes
of garlic, perfect for salad dressings, marinades,
and dishes requiring a lighter touch of garlic.
 Make the vertical slices
Place a whole, peeled garlic clove on the
chopping block. Hold the clove steady on the sides
of the clove.
- Using the tip of your knife, make three or
four vertical slices in the garlic clove, making
sure to cut all the way through.
- Making these cuts of equal thickness will
give you the best results.
 Make a crisscross or grid
pattern
Turn the garlic clove 90 degrees. Again, with
the tip of your knife, make three or four more
vertical cuts so that you have a criss-cross or
grid pattern.
 Hold the clove
Two crucial points will help you at this
juncture: the finger position and the slicing
motion.With the tip of the knife, mince garlic by
cutting horizontally from top.
- Take a look at the thumb, index, middle,
and ring fingers of your non-dominant
hand (that's the hand you'll hold the garlic
with, not the hand that holds the knife. These
will be the mechanism that controls the
thickness of the tiny garlic cubes you about to
make.
- The index and middle fingers are the
front runners--they rest on the front edge of
the garlic where you'll start slicing. Equally
important is the angle of these fingers:
the second knucles are vertical, with the first
knuckles (the ones nearest to the garlic) curled
in slightly away from the edge of the clove.
(This will prevent you from mincing your
fingertips.) There should only be a small
portion of the clove visible as you look down
your fingers from above.
- The thumb has an important function
which will be revealed to you a little later.
For now let it rest on the cutting board
directly behind the clove and the fingers in
front.
 Slice with rhythm
- Rest the flat side of the knife
against your fingers. Using this placement as a
guide, the knife stays in the same plane--it
doesn't move laterally, either toward your
fingers or away from them.
- Lift the knife off the cutting board,
but still in contact with your fingers. Lift it
a little away from you and the garlic, and
towards the other side of the cutting board.
- Slice downwards on the criss-crossed using
the heel of the knife (its back edge). As you
slice downwards, also draw the knife towards
you. This downward and sideways movement
slices through garlic more easily, leaving you
with a neat pile instead of a big sloppy mess.
- Lift the knife again, up and away from you,
and again slice downwards and towards you.
Practice this movement without even
slicing any garlic. Soon you'll realize, as the
movement gets smoother, that it's circular. Keep
at and you'll feel the rhythm of this ancient
motion.
Before you slice any further, read on...
 Thrust with the thumb
Now that you've got the circular motion and
you're slicing with rhythm, you're ready to
incorporate the thumb into this symphony of
movement.
- The thumb is the driver of the mincing
operation. As you lift the knife up and away
from you, push the garlic towards the knife.
You'll have it out just in time for the knife to
descend and slice through it. Again, as the
knife ascends, you push the garlic out just
enough to make a small cube from the criss-cross
pattern you've already made. The thumb forces
the garlic out into the slicing line, and aslo
prevents it from making an rear-exit escape. Its
destiny to become minced is certain.
- Work slowly and carefully at first.
Eventually you'll be able to mince with great
speed with this technique, but don't rush it ,
or your fingers will be sorry that you did.
- As you get towards the end of the clove, you
may find it necessary to angle the blade
slighty in towards the fingers. But keep the
flat of the blade resting on the second
knuckles! Look closely where you're slicing and
you'll never get a cut. As you get o the very
tip of the clove, just take your fingers away
and chop up the remains into small cubes. Bon
appetit!
-end-
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