Sometimes, the “proper” technique just doesn’t work for the home cook. In culinary school, we were taught how to mince garlic by using the side of our chef’s knives to smash a clove, then dice it into teeny tiny pieces. That works, but chopping the pieces small enough can be tedious. So, one very odd afternoon at Tiffani Theissen’s house in LA, I learned my first hack. Yes, straight from Kelly Kapowski herself. Life is weird, guys.

I was prepping the ingredients for Theissen’s take on guac, and she commented that my minced garlic was way too big. She handed me a microplane zester and asked me to use that instead. Suddenly, I had uniform slivers of garlic…only I spent the whole time carefully trying not to slice my fingers and get blood in the actress’s smashed avocados. (Something told me that might be a bit of a buzzkill.)

Turns out, there’s an even better way to mince garlic:

I adopted Theissen’s trick, even if I used nearly twice as much garlic since I’d often toss nubs of cloves out, rather than risk slicing up my hands. Then my husband, Nate, took things one step further: One night, as he prepped dinner, I noticed him grab a corn cob holder, stab a garlic clove, and use that as a handle of sorts, keeping his fingers clear of the zester. WHAAAAT?! Game. Changed.

You could also use a fork to hold the garlic, but either way, your fingers stay clear of the zester’s blades and your cloves are perfectly minced in no time. Win-win.

My Essentials:

• Microplane zester, $12
• Piggy corn cob holders, $8 (Sadly, my cacti ones are no longer sold!)

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Lead photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash.