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I am so confused, that’s not an affiliate link!
What’s happening here?
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He’s always been such a showman with those techniques!
Smashing for a few cloves
Two bowls for many cloves
Hey, so I think I invented a new way! You start with the palm smash that breaks the cloves off and then you cut off the root end, the way you do in the vid. Here’s the thing. If you cut almost-but-not -all-the-way through, the loose end is connected to the paper and you can use it like a tab to pull off the rest of the paper. Same with the other pointy end - cut it almost off, but leave a connection to the paper and it unzips. Usually the clove falls right out of the paper. I’m a genius!
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You monster!
He did the smash
He did the half-knife smash
“ovoo”? 
Overly-virgin olive oil??
Mark is part of Cool Tools, though…but maybe you knew that.
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Bruising or crushing the garlic releases more of the garlicky sulfur compounds. If you like that, then crush away. If you prefer the sweeter flavors, then slice with a very sharp knife to reduce the disruption of the cells.
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I do like to watch the master:
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That’s where I learned it. It’s the best way, because it’s the most FUN.
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Remove the stem, and instead of smashing, press the garlic with the side of the knife. Exert just enough pressure to crack the skin. It will peel just as easily as if it was smashed (most of the time).
Also, though this guy dissed the salt method, I believe he missed the point. The salt draws out enough moisture to soften the cell walls and makes it easy to macerate the garlic for salsas and garlic butter.
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Dude, you have an unhealthy obsession about peeling garlic 
I peel on average half a bulb a day (chinese, thai, lao and khmer food). Learn the way of the cleaver chef. I was taught by an 83 year old granny from Shanghai in the '80s and never looked back. A good chinese cleaver slices, chops, smashes and scoops. I also have a small parring knife that I use to core things and that’s it. Americans are too obsessed with gadgets. Buy one good cleaver and you’re set for life.
If you want to see a cleaver cook in action, check out Li Ziqi https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoC47do520os_4DBMEFGg4A
She is an accomplished cleaver chef, farmer, consumer of mountains of red chili and all round badass master of all trades. There is NOTHING this woman can’t do, and do better than anyone else. Her videos are gorgeous food porn and showcase for the beauty of the Sichuan mountain country.
If you want to buy the cleaver she uses in her videos, they are for sale here: https://raknife.com/ These are not cleavers for the novice. She uses them to do everything from chopping bamboo, killing chickens and cooking enough food every day to feed an small army. I assume that most of the food she cooks feeds the camera crew. In the videos all you ever see is her and her grandmother.
We run an art gallery in Phnom Penh every thursday night and open every show with an odd collection of videos. Over the past year we’ve played all of her videos and they always end up being great conversation starters.
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As a sucker for low-tech solutions I whole-heartedly agree.
These days I can also be found peeling a few carrots with the right-angled back the same knife.
“Don’t expect a ‘Goodfellas’ joke here, I don’t own a razor blade.”
Well, that sort of explains the 5 o’clock shadow.
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I like the tube thingy, too. Does it count against me if I got it as a gift?
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I like the tube, too! It’s frankly quicker than the two bowls method, because the bowl method is hit-and-miss; you end up going for a second or even third round with the cloves that didn’t get the message in round one. The tube may only handle one clove at a time, but it handles it.
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I have done the same in a pinch, but a cleaver is a really crappy vegetable peeler 
As the poet Louis Zukofsky said in 1950:
Had he asked me to say Kadish
I believe I would have said it for him.
How fathom his will
Who had taught himself to be simple.
Everything should be as simple as it can be,
Says Einstein,
But not simpler.
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Meh, but at least it’s better than the pre-cut garlic in a jar, that’s stuff’s worse than powdered garlic.
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