Zulay Garlic Press Honest Review

After 25 years in restaurant kitchens, I've pressed more garlic than I care to count. I've used the flimsy ones that bend, the fancy ones that jam, and the ones that leave you picking bits of peel out of your teeth. So when the Zulay Kitchen Metal Garlic Press landed on my counter, I figured it would go the way of the others: used twice, then parked in a drawer. That's not what happened. This one earned a permanent spot on my cutting board, but it took some real weeknight cooking for me to figure out why.

I'm Marcus Bell, a former line cook who now works a warehouse supervisor job and cooks dinner for my family most nights. We live in a 1990s ranch in Hammond, Louisiana, with a mid-size kitchen and about a square foot of usable counter space. That's why I'm picky about gadgets. If it doesn't save time or cleanup, it doesn't stay out. The Zulay press passed that test, but not for the reasons the product page leads you to believe.

How I've Used It

I've been using the Zulay press for four months now, since early February. Most nights I cook for three, and Sundays I cook for a bigger crowd, sometimes eight or ten people. That means a lot of garlic. On a typical Sunday, I'll press a full bulb, ten or twelve cloves, for a pot of red beans or a big pan of smothered chicken. The press handles that volume without complaint. On the first Sunday of March, I pressed two full bulbs for a batch of red beans and rice, about twenty cloves in total, and it never jammed once. I used a heavy cast iron pot for the red beans, and the garlic went straight into the hot oil. The press let me get the garlic into the oil without it burning, because I could press it directly over the pot. That's something you can't do with a knife and a cutting board.

The first time I used it, I made the mistake of loading it with three cloves at once. That's too much. The press can handle one or two, but three jams it up and you're prying out the bits. Once I figured out the right amount, one or two cloves per press, it became a rhythm: crack the clove, drop it in, squeeze, scrape the bottom with a knife, repeat. For a bulb of garlic, that's maybe ninety seconds of work. I timed it one Tuesday night, ten cloves from crack to clean, and it took one minute forty-eight seconds.

What surprised me was the cleanup. Most garlic presses I've owned have those little nubs on the handle that are supposed to clean out the holes, but they never actually work. The Zulay press has a curved bottom that catches the garlic, and the holes are small enough that nothing gets stuck in them. A quick rinse under hot water and a flick of the thumb clears the holes. I've never had to use a toothpick on it, which is more than I can say for any other press I've owned.

The One Thing Nobody Tells You About Cleaning a Garlic Press

The one thing nobody tells you about any garlic press is that the cleaning is where most presses fail. The Zulay press is better than most, but it's not perfect. If you let the garlic dry on it, which happens if you get distracted and leave it in the sink for a few hours, the residue gets stubborn. You have to soak it in hot water and then scrub it with a brush. That's true of any press, though, and the Zulay one is easier to deal with than the ones with plastic parts that stain. I left it in the sink overnight once, after a late Sunday dinner, and the next morning I had to soak it for ten minutes and use a bottle brush to get the dried bits out. After that, I made a habit of rinsing it immediately after use.

I also learned that the press works best if you crack the clove first. The product page implies you can just drop a whole clove in, peel and all. That's not true. If you press an unpeeled clove, the skin gets crushed into the garlic and you're fishing out little pieces of paper. So I always crack the clove with the flat of my knife, pull off the skin, then press. That adds maybe five seconds per clove, but it saves a minute of picking out peel. I tested it three separate times to be fair, and each time the unpeeled clove left skin in the garlic. The peeled cloves came out perfectly smooth.

Another thing: the press has a little lip on the bottom that catches the garlic so it doesn't squirt sideways. That's a nice touch. The first press I owned, a cheap one from the grocery store, would send garlic flying across the cutting board. This one keeps it in place. It's a small thing, but it makes a difference when you're cooking with a toddler underfoot. My wife Denise likes that I don't have to chase garlic bits off the floor anymore.

Does It Really Skip the Peeling Step?

I tested the 'no peeling needed' claim on three separate occasions, because I wanted to give it a fair shot. The first time, I pressed a whole unpeeled clove. The press crushed it, but the skin ended up in the garlic. I spent a minute picking it out. The second time, I tried pressing a clove that I had only slightly cracked, leaving most of the skin on. Same result. The third time, I used a clove that I had peeled properly, and it was perfect. So the answer is: you still need to peel the garlic, or at least crack it enough to slip the skin off. The press does not magically remove the skin for you. That's the biggest discrepancy between the marketing and the reality. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's something you should know before you buy. If you're someone who hates peeling garlic, this press won't save you from that chore. It will save you from mincing, but not from peeling.

That said, the press does a better job of getting the garlic out of the skin than some other presses I've used. With the cheaper ones, the garlic would get stuck in the holes and you'd have to dig it out. The Zulay press has holes that are sized right, so the garlic comes out in a clean paste. You still have to peel, but you don't have to fight the press. The paste is fine, not too watery, which is good for sauteing. I've used it to make garlic butter, and it worked perfectly.

How It Held Up Over Four Months

I've used this press at least five nights a week for four months, plus a dozen or so Sunday dinners. That's a lot of garlic. The handle still has a solid feel, no flex, no bending. The hinge hasn't loosened, and the metal hasn't started to pit or rust. I've dropped it once on the tile floor, and it survived without a dent. I did notice that the finish has worn a little where the handle meets the body, but that's cosmetic and hasn't affected performance. My son, who is a teenager and not exactly gentle, has used it a few times to make his own snacks, and it's held up fine.

One thing that surprised me was how well the press handles the hard, papery skins that some garlic bulbs have. I bought a bag of garlic from the farmers market that had particularly tough skins, and the press still managed to crush the cloves cleanly after I peeled them. The curved bottom seems to direct the pressure better than the flat-bottomed presses I've used. I remember one particular evening in late March when I was making a big batch of spaghetti sauce, and I had to press about fifteen cloves. The press never skipped a beat, and I finished the whole prep in under five minutes. I even timed myself one evening, and I was able to press fifteen cloves in four minutes and twenty seconds, including the peeling. That's faster than I can mince with a knife.

The only wear I've seen is on the little cleaning nub that sticks up from the handle. It's still there, but it's starting to look a bit worn. It still does the job, though, and it's not a part that's critical to the press's function. I imagine it'll last a good long while. I also appreciate that the press is all metal, no plastic parts to crack or stain. The metal does get a bit warm if you leave it on the stove, but that's not a problem unless you're a professional chef who's pressing garlic all day.

The Tradeoffs You Should Know Before You Buy

No tool is perfect, and the Zulay press has a few tradeoffs you should know about before you click buy. First, it's a single-purpose tool. It takes up drawer space, and if you're short on counters, it's not something you'll leave out. I keep mine in the drawer next to the stove, and I pull it out when I need it. Second, the handle is a little short for very large hands. I have average-size hands for a man, and it's fine, but my brother, who has huge hands, found it awkward to grip. He said his fingers cramped after pressing a few cloves. That's a minor issue, but it's worth noting if you have big hands or arthritis. For someone with arthritis, the short handle might cause hand fatigue, so a larger press with a longer handle could be more comfortable.

Another tradeoff is that the press doesn't do well with frozen garlic or garlic that's been in the fridge for too long. If the clove is dry, it crumbles instead of pressing cleanly. You need fresh, slightly moist garlic for the best results. I tested this with a head of garlic that had been sitting in the pantry for a month, and it was a mess. The cloves were shriveled and the press just crushed them into flakes. That's true of any press, though, so it's not a dealbreaker. I've learned to buy garlic in smaller quantities and use it within a couple of weeks.

Finally, the press is not dishwasher safe, at least not the way I wash it. The instructions say to hand wash it, and I've followed that. I wouldn't put it in the dishwasher, because the heat might warp the metal or damage the hinge. It's easy to hand wash, so it's not a big deal, but if you're someone who insists on dishwasher-safe everything, this might be a point against it. I wash it by hand in about thirty seconds, and it's ready for the next meal. It's not a big chore, but it's worth mentioning for people who expect to throw everything in the dishwasher.

Overall, the tradeoffs are minor compared to the benefits. The press has become a permanent part of my weekly cooking routine, and I've already recommended it to two of my coworkers who cook at home. They both bought one and have had the same experience. It's not a tool that will change your life, but it's one that will make a small daily task easier, and that's worth something in a busy week.

The Zulay press is the first one that's stayed out on my counter, not because it's fancy, but because it does the job without drama.

Who This Is For

This press is for anyone who cooks with garlic more than once a week and is tired of either crushing cloves with a knife or wrestling with a flimsy press. It's for the home cook who wants a tool that actually does the job without drama. If you're a person who likes to press a whole bulb of garlic for a big batch of sauce or a Sunday roast, this press will handle it. It's also for people who hate the cleanup that comes with other presses, because this one is genuinely easy to rinse out. My wife Denise, who used to avoid garlic because she hated peeling it, now asks me to press extra cloves so she can have them in the fridge. She's not a fan of gadgets, but she's made an exception for this one.

Who Should Skip It

If you only use garlic a few times a month, you probably don't need a dedicated press. A knife and a cutting board will do the job just fine. Also, if you're looking for a press that lets you skip peeling entirely, this isn't it. You still need to peel, or at least crack the clove. And if you have very large hands or arthritis that makes squeezing difficult, the short handle might be a problem. In those cases, a different design, like a rocker-style press, might be a better fit. I'd also skip it if you're someone who puts everything in the dishwasher, because this one needs to be hand washed. If that's a dealbreaker, look elsewhere.