"When asked, 'Is pre-minced garlic ever okay?' Flay succinctly responds that the ingredient is, in fact, 'never okay.' Pre-minced garlic comes in jars packed in oil, to be spooned into dishes as needed. This might seem particularly appealing when staring down the barrel of larger-batch recipes (finely mincing two cups' worth of fresh garlic demands a sizable chunk of time, to be sure)."
"Mincing breaks open the garlic's cells, thereby releasing its natural chemical enzymes, which are responsible for creating garlic's unique flavor compounds. The moment that garlic is sliced, it begins to change at a fundamental structural level. Without those freshly-released enzymes (namely, pungent alliinase), the ingredient becomes significantly less flavorful."
"To illustrate what we mean, consider the difference in the aroma of fresh-cut garlic bulbs versus opening a jar of pre-minced garlic. The former is dimensional and inviting, while the latter is somewhat acrid, sour, and decidedly less appealing."
Chef Bobby Flay states that pre-minced garlic is never acceptable for cooking, despite its convenience for large-batch recipes. When garlic is minced, its cells break open and release natural chemical enzymes, particularly alliinase, which create garlic's unique flavor compounds. Pre-minced garlic stored in jars loses these freshly-released enzymes, resulting in significantly diminished flavor. The aroma difference is notable: fresh-cut garlic smells dimensional and inviting, while jarred pre-minced garlic has an acrid, sour, and less appealing smell. At a chemical level, pre-minced garlic barely qualifies as garlic due to these fundamental structural changes that occur after mincing.
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