Here’s How To Cook With Garlic Without Smelling Like It

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Garlic is one of the most (if not the most) essential ingredient in your kitchen. When it’s raw, garlic is intensely powerful and pungent, and when it’s cooked, garlic becomes mellow and sweet. Since it’s aromatic, garlic makes the scent of anything you’re cooking so much better. The only aspect of using garlic that scares away some home cooks is the ingredient’s intense smell, but it is possible to cook with this pungent aromatic and still go out in public afterward. Here are a few simple tips to avoid smelling like a giant clove of garlic at the bar after spending the day in the kitchen.

Keep Your Body Cool

Let’s say you decide to make spaghetti with tomato sauce for dinner, but you plan on going out afterward and you want to avoid smelling like garlic. If possible, try and refrain from any activities that make you sweat after you consume garlic. The scent of garlic can easily seep through your pores and heat tends to intensify fragrances in sweat. So try and keep your body cool, or take a shower after you eat some garlicky spaghetti sauce.

Wash With Stainless Steel

To avoid a lingering garlic smell on your hands after you do some serious chopping, here’s a helpful trick. Stainless steel helps remove garlic odor. There are certain products made specifically for this situation like the Amco Rub-A-Way Bar. You could also use this bar for removing other strong odors from your hands like onions and fish. Garlic molecules contain sulfur, and these molecules get onto your skin when you’re cooking with it. When you rub your hands on stainless steel, these molecules transfer to the metal (along with the stench).

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Rinse With Salt And Lemon

Rubbing your hands together with a little bit of salt and lemon juice can also do the trick. The lemon juice helps to neutralize odors from pungent food. However, if your hands are particularly sensitive to salt scrubs, it might be best to stay away from this method. You could also rub a slice of lemon on your cutting board after working with garlic if you want to avoid the smell being transferred to other foods.

Try Tomato Juice

When you get sprayed by a skunk, people might tell you to go soak in a tomato juice bath. Well, the same goes for garlic — except garlic is delicious. Try squeezing a little tomato juice on your hands, or if you have a few minutes, soak them in a bowl of tomato juice to help get rid of the scent.

Use A Fork

If your recipe only calls for a clove or two of garlic, take a shortcut and avoid using a knife altogether. Peel the garlic and then press the tines of the fork into the clove. Keep pressing the fork into the clove in different directions as many times as you need to get to the right size.

Cook It First

If you want to avoid dealing with raw garlic entirely, switch up the cooking process and sauté the cloves first. Sauté the cloves in a little oil over medium-high heat until they’re golden brown. Then use a spoon or fork to mash it up for your recipe. This way, you end up with a garlic paste that you can easily incorporate into any stir-fry, sauce or pasta dish and keep your hands clean and fresh.