Peeling garlic cloves and freezing cheese
By Simon Gault on 15th February, in Simon Gault's recipe tips
It always takes me ages to peel garlic cloves and it gets very frustrating. Is there an easy method I haven’t thought of?
Garlic is easier to peel if you smash it first. Do it good and hard against the bench or your chopping board, and you’ll find the skin will slide off.
A shop near my workplace always has great specials on cheese. If I buy in bulk, can I freeze it? 
Hard cheeses can be frozen, but they’ll never be quite the same as when fresh, so it’s not something I usually do. If you want to have a go, wrap the pieces in clingfilm and put them in freezer bags. Defrost them in the fridge before eating.
The cheese may be a little crumbly, but will still be fine for cooking. Sometimes I freeze a little piece of gorgonzola, then grate it over a salad. The effect is gorgeous – it looks like snow. Soft cheeses, such as brie, won’t freeze well. Neither will cottage cheese, which goes watery.
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It always takes me ages to peel garlic cloves and
it gets very frustrating. Is there an easy method
I haven’t thought of?
Garlic is easier to peel if you smash it fi rst. Do it good and
hard against the bench or your chopping board, and you’ll
fi nd the skin will slide off.
My aunt used to make a lovely thing,
which I think was called Chantilly cream.
She’s passed away and I can’t fi nd her
recipe. Can you help?
Yes, I know exactly what you mean. It’s
delicious with fresh fruit. Whip 2 cups of
heavy whipping cream, ¼ cup of icing
sugar and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
(or essence) and mix until stiff.
THE BIG CHEESE
A shop near my workplace always has great
specials on cheese. If I buy in bulk, can I freeze it?
Hard cheeses can be frozen, but they’ll never be quite
the same as when fresh, so it’s not something I usually
do. If you want to have a go, wrap the pieces in clingfilm
and put them in freezer bags. Defrost them in the fridge
before eating. The cheese may be a little crumbly, but will
still be fine for cooking. Sometimes I freeze a little piece
of gorgonzola, then grate it over a salad. The effect is
gorgeous – it looks like snow. Soft cheeses, such as
brie, won’t freeze well. Neither will cottage
cheese, which goes watery
If you break the bulb of garlic into individual cloves and then cover with boiling water and leave for 5 minutes, they will be very easy to peel.
Report comment Report commentAnd if you want to store it, you can keep it in the fridge in a jar with either oil or vinegar added. The liquid is great for salad dressings.
Yeah, I found some garlic long past fresh yesterday in the fridge, good question.
Report comment Report commentZap garlic cloves in the microwave for a couple of seconds, then very easy to peel
Report comment Report commentSimon, what’s the best way to use a lot of left over garlic? I was thinking of storing it but because it’s already crushed I didn’t think it would stay fresh
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