Stop telling me how to get rid of the garlic smell on my hands

August 31, 2023 by
 |  5 Comments  |  Leave Comment

Frequently a post saying something like “this is the best method to remove the garlic smell from your hands” will pop up in my news feed. I never click on those posts. Not only do I not want to remove the odor, I would be open to a perfume that smells like garlic when it is thrown into hot butter. I exaggerate for effect, of course (or do I?), but in reality I do not mind when my fingers have a lingering garlic smell while I’m cooking, and maybe even for a little bit afterward. If I didn’t like garlic odor I wouldn’t be cooking with it.

I am not recommending that anyone stop washing their hands when cooking – that can lead to cross contamination and foodborne illness. Yuck! But after I have chopped garlic I am in no hurry to get rid of the scent remaining on my hands. By the time I am through with the rest of the chopping, slicing, dicing and julienning, have transferred the ingredients to their respective pans and everything is happily bubbling away on the stovetop, I have usually washed my hands multiple times, enough that any remaining odor is faint if even noticeable.

The fact that people seem to have such a difficult time getting rid of garlic odor makes me question their handwashing technique, as I find that a gentle scrub with soap is sufficient. Perhaps my olfactory senses aren’t as sharp as others, maybe my skin doesn’t absorb odors as much, or perhaps those posts are just good clickbait. But if you are determined to remove every trace of garlic odor, the best (and easiest) method I have found is to rub my hands on a stainless steel pot or bowl under running water. This removed the smell completely for me – I was astonished at how well it worked. Now you too can ignore those posts offering the ‘best’ solution, or you can join me on the dark side and luxuriate in the fragrance.

Category: Cooking Tips

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5 Comments

  • hillsboroks  on  September 1, 2023

    Rubbing your hands on the stainless steel pot is brilliant! I’ve seen many ads through the years for a stainless gadget about the size of a bar of soap that is supposed to take the garlic smell off your hands but never was tempted to buy one because they aren’t cheap and the age old problem of do I want something else living near my sink. Like you I wash my hands so many times during food prep that I’ve never worried much about the smell of garlic on my hands. Between hand washing and frequent dips into a sink of hot soapy water to wash my spatulas, measuring spoons, etc. it just disappears.

  • matag  on  September 1, 2023

    I was just reeling a friend how much I love the smell of garlic on my hands!

  • averythingcooks  on  September 1, 2023

    Garlic hands = good!
    Hot pepper hands = bad!! (I slept in my contact lenses one night this week because there no way any finger was going in my eyes!)

  • CapeCodCook  on  September 1, 2023

    I agree with posters who wonder why the fuss about removing the garlic smell from one’s hands when cooking/chopping garlic. Perhaps you live in a more refined culture than I do, but I don’t seem to have anyone interested in bowing over my hand in greeting, much less in kissing it!

  • demomcook  on  September 6, 2023

    I use a soup spoon. Works great to remove onion and garlic smell – should I wish to!

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