Customer Reviews

OXO Good Grips Garlic Press

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(38)
1 star:		(45)

 

 

These two garlic presses seem to be the most popular on Amazon right now, and since I've used both, here's my two cents.

OXO: this is a much easier press to use, requiring far less hand strength. It's also the easiest to clean (just flip it backwards and the red plastic head cleans itself). Mine has done just fine in the dishwasher top rack. However, it can't handle unpeeled cloves, and does have a tendency to break at the hinge every 2 years or so (I used it almost every night). It also leaves slightly more unused garlic residue inside.

Zyliss Susi Deluxe: I bought this after breaking my third OXO. It requires substantially more hand strength to use. It can press unpeeled cloves, but you have to squeeze quite hard to do this. It is slightly harder to clean than the OXO (use an included attachment), but still much easier than other garlic presses. This one leaves practically no unused garlic residue inside. I've only had it 4 months, so I can't comment on durability yet.

Overall, I'd get the OXO if you have arthritis or if your hands aren't strong, or if ease of use and cleaning are very important to you; just plan on replacing it every couple of years if you use garlic every night. I'd get the Zyliss if you have strong hands and don't want to peel the garlic cloves, or if the breakage rate (or leaving behind a tiny quantity of garlic) bothers you. I'll probably stick with the Zyliss, but I'd buy my mom the OXO (and replacements).

I hate to bad-mouth OXO because I like the rest of their products. They cannot be beat for ergonomic comfort, and in that respect, the OXO Good Grips Garlic Press is no exception. The handles are extremely comfortable to grip, and with very small garlic cloves, minimal pressure is needed to crush them with this press. However, I have owned two of these OXO garlic presses, and both of them have broken while simply pressing a medium-sized garlic clove. The first time this happened, I though perhaps I had just gotten a defective press, and I optimistically purchased a second. Imagine my dismay when three months later, the exact same thing happened to the second press. Although this product looks big and sturdy, unfortunately, looks can be deceiving.

Great features (the comfortable grips and self-cleaning) but it is not durable at all. Hinge broke while crushing a small clove of garlic and the press was less than 3 months old! Certainly not overused nor abused by any means. Even hand-washed despite the fact they say it's dishwasher safe.

The press "looks" like good quality stainless steel but I've never seen stainless "snap" like this one did. I know of two other family members whose OXO presses broke at the hinge, too.

So, I will not be wasting my money on this brand. I'll go with a true stainless steel press until this manufacturer can improve on this one.

After reading all the reviews of people who have had this press break on them, I thought I'd toss in a word with my experiences with it.

First, I will agree about the rubber handles slipping down from time to time. This is a minor issue - they don't really slide enough to cause a problem, and you can push them back up. It isn't like they come loose and fall off - it takes a bit of effort to pull them down.

The red piece that fits into the holes make cleaning up much, much easier - I've had much quicker cleanup with this press than any other I've used - though garlic does tend to gather around the hinge also, and that can be a little tough to remove. The red piece has come off a couple times, staying stuck in the holes it's supposed to clean, but goes back on to the other side easily enough.

I've had mine for about two years, and still no signs of breakage, or any problems other than the minor ones already listed. There may be better ones, but this is much better than your run-of-the-mill garlic press, I know that much.

Addendum: About two months after initially posting this review, I discovered exactly what others were talking about when referring to the hinge breaking - suddenly, while pressing garlic, the hinge just gave way. No warning, no signs of stress beforehand. The hinge just broke and the press died. I've thus realized that while this is a nice, useful press for the time it does work, it will likely eventually break on you. Something to consider.

Overall, I've been very impressed with OXO tools. However, I have to say that this garlic press is a notable exception. It's just not built to withstand any kind of heavy use. If you put any medium or large-sized clove of garlic in it, you will break the press, it's only a matter of time. I've gone through 2 of them this way, and it's a shame, because generally OXO tools hold up much better than this.

I've had this garlic press for five years now. This one is by far the very best one I've owned. Pressing the garlic thru the holes is very easy. The very best feature is the red self cleaning side. After you've pressed your garlic, just flip the handle around and push the red "cleaners" thru the holes and you've just gotten the garlic out of the holes.
I like this press so much that I've given lots of them as gifts.
As others have written, it does get water under the rubber handles.. the way I handle this is to just pull the rubber off the handles, maybe 1/4 inch. No problems.

This press is far superior to the average garlic press. The press and the screen are flush, so you get maximum squeezability. Good value for the price and easy to clean.

The first time I tried to use this beautiful tool, the rubber handle slipped off. After glueing it back on, I found out that the handles are too thick to allow complete compression. I purchased this with the thought that I had the Cadillac of garlic presses. What I got was closer to a Yugo. I ended up tossing it in the garbage.

This garlic press is better than most, particularly because the pressing head flips over to clear the crushing face -- a big plus compared to the zyliss and farberware presses, that you either have to pick clean or use a separate (included) tool. No thank you! I regularly crushed two cloves of garlic at a time in this press. However, I broke it while trying to crush ginger root. I think it's because this press is made of cast aluminum covered with chrome(?) plating. If you think you might be crushing lots of garlic or the occasional ginger root, go for the stainless steel OXO version. Well worth the additional $$.

An absolutely brilliant garlic-press. Wide-handled for ease and, dare I say it, power. It feels like you can crush steel in the press. The flip side of the press is affixed with a plastic push (the red part visible in the photo) which makes removing the remnants of the garlic clove very easy. The only downside, as one other reviewed aptly pointed out, is that the hinge tends to break after time. Truthfully, I've only broken one and that was after I tried to press three large cloves at once. So, after having said that, perhaps you should take my "tends to break" comment with a grain of salt (or garlic as the case may be).

In short, a very good and affordable press which you will enjoy for a long time. I've bought many for friends and family I love it so much.

Lastly, to the reviewer from NY below who is amazed that the handles (which CAN be pulled off by the way) absorb water in the dishwasher...here's an idea: try washing it by hand. If you are unable to wash it by hand, just pull off the handles...they easily slide back on.