That's a nice garlic press. I have lots of PC stuff. Some of my faves are the mini serving spatula, the large serving spatula, the mini tart shaper (I was surprised how much I use this), the 2 quart batter bowl w/lid, the small and medium cookie scoops (these get tons of use), and of course a baking stone with the rack. I know there are more, but these are indispensible to me!

I like my PC garlic press except it's getting harder and harder for me to squeeze it.

Why do you find the little cleaning tool so awkward and clumsy? It snaps into place for storage and it really pushes out little remaining pieces of garlic when you're cleaning it. I use the little cleaning piece each time and then after it's all dry, I just snap it onto the press.

Tell me what you are having trouble with. My SIL saw me snapping it onto the press once and said, "Hey I heard a snap, what did you do?" So I showed her. Now she has no problems with it.

In my opinion, the PC garlic press is the best I've ever used! Love the fact that there's no need to peel first.

Also have some of their stoneware baking pieces, the large bar pan, tart shaper, & 2 qt batter bowl (use this a lot), zester/scorer, food chopper, ice cream dipper, large & small spreader, just what I can recall at the moment.

Lucy

Shaun... the extended finger on the cleaning tool is too blunt/thick to remove the peel easily. I find a knife much easier, which is fine because I already have one out for scraping the garlic from the outside of the holes after it's been pressed. I can't figure out how to hold it properly... and it is very hard to snap off. Maybe it would get easier with more use. I also dislike having to remove it each time I use the press! I might dig it out if there is ever some garlic stuck in the holes!

I have tons of PC stuff and I love it all....the stones, garlic press etc., etc., LOL

Linda

Ooooh ok. I see what you mean. I also use a little knife to scrape the garlic off. I dont use the little extended finger on that gizmo to remove the peel, like you, I use a knife for that too. I guess now that I think about it, I just use that little thing to clean it, to push out all the garlic stuck in the holes.

But mine does come off easily. Maybe with use it'll get easier.

In any event, enjoy your new garlic press!!!

I have the one on your right also..and never use it:)

I have a one piece old old one that woks so well....maybe like your PC..

The other ..not so good.

I have several of the different baking stones and love them. The ice cream scoop, I could take it or leave it, it doesn't melt stuff like it used to. The self-sharpening knives are awesome too.

I have a lot of their stuff and like it very much! The batter bowl, garlic press, stoneware baker and basket some of their white serving ware and a basket for that too. The little serving spatula is great too! I also love the veggie chopper!

You ask what other PC products you should have...in my opionion, none!...sorry but while most are fine products..( but for the olive oil mister) I can buy something just as good for a lot less...and in some cases the very same product.
I have a 20 year old Zlyss garlic press that crushes with out peeling and even has a little plastic doo-dad that will remove the leftover garlic goo with one quick movement.
The church has an OXO which also works very well.
Not a fan of the over pricing scheme of products sold by the party plan.
Linda C

I have the large and small batter bowls and the lemon juicer. I use the juicer all the time and love it.

Linda, you're not far off the mark. About 4-6 years ago, a lot of the PC stuff was made by Zyliss. (The mandoline and peeler come to mind.) PC doesn't make anything; they OEM from other manufacturers. Often the only difference is the color or other cosmetics. I used to have people wave something in my face with "Do you know how much MORE I paid for the exact same thing from PC?" as if a) it was my fault, b) I could do something about it, and c) I didn't tell them that the last time they were in looking at the same item. LOL!

They change suppliers every few years. The stuff is usually good because they buy from good companies, but I see no reaons to pay over retail for the same tool..

I wonder who is making the current garlic press. It's the same thing in the vacuum/appliance world... almost everything is outsourced.

When I saw a trifle bowl in the PC catalog for 40 bucks, I almost fainted. I've never shopped for one before (if you can't eat it, plug it in, or move its mechanical parts I do not shop for it!), but that seems very high.

Monique, isn't that Onieda (apparently I was spelling it wrong, but they deserve it!) just dreadful?

Linda, the OXO press I would have been the one I went with had I not gotten this as a gift. It was 15 bucks also, and I liked that the spiked "cleaner" was attached to the main unit and all one had to do was flip it the other way to dislodge the garlic. I despise a second detachable awkward piece... but the press works so well that it's forgivable!

Wally World had a trifle bowl for $7.99...not fine crystal...but I'll bet every bit as good as the PC one....I wish I had bought it...I have a yen for the layered salad with the peas, bacon, grated Swiss cheese etc. and it looks great presented in a trifle bowl.
The OXO garlic press I bought for the church for $1.00 in a box of sale items from a store that was closing. I LOVE a bargain!!
Linda C

I have had the same one as you for about 9 or 10 years, and i do like it alot! Enjoy.

All my PC has been given to me as gifts from my SIL, who sells the stuff. I've liked it all. I have a years (decades?) old coffee caraf that we still use, even though it quit keeping the coffee hot a long time ago. I have a years old pizza stone that we use for lots of things, not just pizza. I wish it was a bit bigger, but gift receivers certainly can't be beggers. Then, this past Christmas, she gave me their salad spinner, which instead of a plunger that you pump, has an arm you push down. My old salad spinner top had been dropped too many times, and was chipped. Plus, the rubber gasket had come off, so my old spinner was almost as noisy and clumsy as a load of laundry that's gotten off balance. This new one is soooo nice, because one push of the arm and the salad is spinning, and it's so quiet it's hard to tell it's even working.

However, I've never bought anything from her, nor probably would I, simply because of the cost.

Sally

I don't know, Bobby. I'm out of that loop now, so I haven't kept up with it. Kuhn Rikon (sp?) was in negotiations last I heard, but that was nearly 2 years ago.

I have the Kuhn Rikon garlic press, which I've had for several years. It looks a bit like yours except that it has white plastic handles (very strong), and the screen rotates out for easy cleaning. Still, I tend to prefer mincing all my garlic with a chef's knife - it just seems so much easier for me, and certainly easier to clean.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with Pampered Chef, and so I don't have any of his products.

Lars

I looked in my drawers and found that I have a couple of garlic presses, an ancient Ekco brand cast aluminum one and a Henckels brand one that I may or may not have ever used. The Ekco one has teeny tiny holes and requires a strong hand and is a beast to clean. The other one has huge holes. Might work great, I have no idea. Like Lars, I tend to mince my garlic if it needs to be evenly incorporated. I love the garlic peeler silicone tube thing that I got in a swap from Renee. It's the coolest little gadget.

I'd never met a garlic press I liked until a friend gave me a PC press. Love it...it'll squirt garlic halfway across the kitchen if you're not careful, lol. I never use the cleaner thingey, just pull out the peels and hit it from both sides with my sprayer before I wash it.

As for other PC products, I have a few things...we seem to have a lot of young moms trying to make a go of PC, Home Interiors, Tastefully Simple...etc. so I always wind up buying something. I like my mini muffin pan, it's heavy and nice non-stick. And I got this new thing just because I had to see what it was like...a finger guard that fits over your knuckles so you don't graze yourself with your knife. I just got it, so I'm reserving judgment. And I like the little $1 knives...handy and disposable (if they're still $1). Mostly PC seems overpriced but what I do have has been good quality. I've always wondered if I'd really use a pizza stone.

Oh wow, I don't think I could name all the PC stuff I have acquired over the years. My favorite by far is the self sharpening 7" knife. I've had it for 15 years and it is as sharp as the day I bought it. I also always use the Pie server, the paring knives (got these free and the youngest is 7 years old and is still sharp), the mini spatula, other spatulas ( 1 regular and 1 skinny), towels, lovely wooden spoons, and my 2 favorite cutting boards. That is just the ones I use daily. What I wish I could still get is the oil mop they used to sell, I loved that thing!

I have the old PC press..It's still one of my favorite tools.

I bought the apple peeler circular slicer and after the second use, one of the spikes broke. When I tried to get it replaced the dealer could not find the record even though I bought it at one of their parties and my receipt was gone and they refused to honor anything even though I still had the box it came in. Really overpriced stuff that can be found somewhere else if you really look. That's why they sell at parties, you hate to leave without buying something. Sorry.

Last year my sister gave me one of those chopper thingies from PC. She swears by it, but I have yet to try it. I like using a knife too much! This year she gave me a bottle/jar opener. I suppose I'll try it if and when I come across something I can't open by hand. That hasn't happened in a while though.

As for the garlic press, I have the OXO. I really like the fixed cleaner, but aside from that I'm not too impressed. A lot squeezes out the sides. One of these days I'll buy a Zyliss which has gotten CI's top vote for years. Generally I like OXO.

I have a friend who used to have "parties" for a different company. Until she realized her friends, neighbors and fellow parishoners were avoiding eye contact with her for fear of being asked to go to another party.

like fen, my garlic press is oxo and it also squirts out the side but it's held up over constant use.

i do have quite a few PC items. years ago a friend became a demonstrator, so i purchased things as well as got points for things by hosting a home party. then of course a woman at church became a demonstrator and everyone felt obligated to host or buy.

i do like the under the counter jar opener and highly recommend any decent jar opener - what a handy aid it is. the one item of pc (haven't seen others) is a mini double sided rolling pin - i've gotten good use out of it in the kitchen, but also when i was wallpapering it came in handy for smoothing the seams.

Terrapots, that may be true with many things (like the trifle bowl, my goodness), but I don't think 15 bucks was too much for a good garlic press. I've seen an Oxo in Lowes for that same price!

Maryanne, isn't it amazing the other uses we find for kitchen tools?

Btw... I found something to do with my garlic press. I'm giving it to my ex who I have a love/hate relationship with... He doesn't have one and I can't think of a better person to inflict it upon!

Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh..........

You are evil! I like it!!

Good choice to "gift" that old press to. (Now THAT's an ugly sentence).

I have PC large and small batter bowls which I love! Ice cream scoop that's been through the dishwasher too many times to heat anymore, but is still a good sturdy scoop. Pizza stone, used occasionally, not overly impressed for the price. Spatulas are good. Just got the serrated peeler and have only used it twice, so will reserve judgement for now. I'm sure there's more, but the batter bowls are my favorite. Love the fact that they have lids and there often Pre-prepped ingredients in one in my fridge!

Deanna

I have a friend who used to have "parties" for a different company. Until she realized her friends, neighbors and fellow parishoners were avoiding eye contact with her for fear of being asked to go to another party.

Glad she realized it. Most never do! I avoid those so-called "parties" like the plague. A party is a social event; those are simply event at which people try to hold their "friends" hostage.

Barnmom, glad you liked that little gadget! Mine gets a lot of use. Had a friend over one day and was making something that needed a head of garlic -- now SHE wants one!

Years ago I bought various stoneware and I sware by them...great product! I have had the garlic press for 8 years and it still works as great as the first day I got it!

My favorite Pampered Chef item right now has to be the Mix and Chop.
It is only $9 and is invaluable when I am frying hamburger for chili
or spaghetti, anything that needs to be in little pieces. Even when the meat
is only half thawed, this thing works like a charm to break it into little
chunks.

Patty

Mine was almost a $15 egg slicer. Even if the prongs stayed straight forever, still too much, IMO. I did get an 8 cup measuring bowl with lid and love it. Use it for everything. Will keep this post in mind for next party!