This Garlic Chopper Is My Italian Mom's Secret Weapon

The inviting aroma of garlic simmering in a pan of olive oil is synonymous with home to me. That’s because I grew up with parents who immigrated from southern Italy, and to them, making homemade dinner is a love language that’s taken very seriously.

But that doesn’t mean my mom, who cooks dinner almost every night for my whole family, doesn’t love a good kitchen shortcut here and there. In fact, she swears by a tool that cuts prep time in half for one of the most important ingredients in almost all her recipes: garlic.

The Chef’n Garliczoom Garlic Chopper has been one of her go-to kitchen tools for years. She swears by its ability to chop garlic easily and consistently — without making your hands smell. If you ask me, $15 is a small price to pay for banishing garlic odors from your hands for good.

Chef’n Garliczoom Garlic Chopper

Amazon

At first glance, the Chef’n Garliczoom looks like a toddler’s toy car that somehow got lost in the kitchen. (But that’s part of its charm!) It consists of a small plastic chamber with a blade inside that sits on two wheels. Rolling the wheels back and forth turns the blade, resulting in freshly chopped garlic in seconds. And you can adjust the technique to your ideal consistency: More rolling results in a finer chop, while less rolling results in a coarser chop.

What sets this tool apart from a garlic press is the results: Garlic presses produce a paste, which has a stickier consistency and often imparts a more intense garlic flavor due to the way it breaks down the cloves. Chopping garlic, however, allows for more versatility in the size of garlic pieces, and it typically results in a milder garlic flavor.

Of course, the traditional way to chop garlic — with a good knife and cutting board — requires technique, time, and patience. (Plus, it’s usually accompanied by a stubborn garlic smell on your hands.)

That’s what makes this garlic chopper so great: It doesn’t require any knife skills, and it drastically cuts down preparation time. Best of all, cleanup is easy: All pieces come apart easily and are top-rack dishwasher-safe.

The Chef’n Garliczoom is just $15 at Amazon, and who doesn’t love a fun-to-use gadget in the kitchen? My mom even claims that rolling it around on the counter as she cooks doubles as a method of stress relief.