Zyliss Susi DeLuxe Garlic Press

Taking this press out of its package, I could tell this was an honestly made kitchen tool. It seems to be made of aluminum, given its lightness. It has a nice, silvery, baked-on enamel, painted finish. Being a male with a rather strong grip, I gave it a full-powered squeeze to see if I could snap it--I coudn't. I'm satisfied to say I can use this without concern of breaking it. Cleaning is not a problem either.The little blue cleaning piece it comes with however, isn't exactly fuss-free. It has those little tiny pegs to poke the garlic waste back out of the whole, but you have to position it just right or you'll find it doesn't mate properly to work for you. I found it more convenient to just use rushing water and a good fingernail to pull out the peels.Squeezing garlic out of this press should be easy enough for any 8 year old chef. One large clove or two small ones will fit into the compactor. Precisely made, no garlic escapes up the sides of the compactor/anvil.Although the Zyliss press is comfortable enough to use and the handles are adequately long, it would have been ideal to have had another inch of length on the handles so my hands didn't hang over the ends. This was not a problem though.Overall, a recommendable, well-made kitchen tool to rely upon and enjoy using. And best of all, no more peeling and chopping garlic!

In terms of functionality, this is a great little garlic press. It is small, and thus requires a little more pressure than some others to crush the garlic, but the shape works well, with most of the garlic coming through.The plastic cleaning piece quickly wears out, so don't count on it. Without the tool, cleaning this press is about the same as others - I usually have to scrape out the peels with my fingernail. Actually, it probably takes less effort than the trouble of getting the plastic piece into place (and then washing it too).The only real problem is the finish soon chips off. We use our press about 2x per week, and have used it about 9 months, and recently chips and peels started appearing in the finish, and there appears to be a lighter color material underneath. This could be from occasional washing in the dishwasher, which is supposed to be safe.I called Zyliss and it has a 5-year warranty, and this problem is covered (they said it is caused by oxidation) so I'll be getting a replacement. (EDIT: Replacement did arrive quickly.)Otherwise, a nice little garlic press.UPDATE FEBRUARY 2011:We've been using the replacement they sent for about 5 years (keeping it out of the dishwasher). The finish is only barely worn, the plastic cleaning piece is long gone, and it is working great! I'd raise the 3 stars to 4 if it wasn't still advertised as dishwasher-safe.

Amazon did not fulfill the order, Target did which was unexpected. When it did arrive it was a Susi 2 which was NOT what I ordered. I was ready to send it back as it lacks the cleaning tool of the Susi 1 , but We decided to try it to see whether we wanted a Susi of any type at all. We use a lot of garlic in Thai and Chinese cooking as well as everyday dishes from Pierre Franey and elsewhere. This machine works well if you leave the skin on . The skin comes right out . This wastes a bit of garlic pulp, but it transfers garlic liquid which usually just soaks in. to the cutting board when you mince garlic. It tastes slightly different than minced My daughter and I are the dishwashers of the family and we use a square toothpick to clean the machine. It takes about thirty seconds max and doesn't waste water. We don't put in the dishwasher . Overall a winner , but no thanks to Amazon or Target for the switch . I could have bought in in the neighborhood for the same price. As to shipping read my review of the Taylor Thermometer -pins and needles before Christmas !

I bought this press in January 2003 from Amazon and have used it at least three times a week ever since. And given that I love to cook and think that darn near everything tastes better with lots of garlic in it (I grew up in Cajun country), my garlic pressing sessions never consist of only one clove. After 13 years, it still performs beautifully, and I have no chips in the finish, no discolored garlic, none of anything mentioned in the negative reviews. I was so surprised by the negative reviews, in fact, that I did something I don't usually do: I checked the number of reviews written by verified purchasers. Of 113 reviews, only 39 were written by people with verified purchases. I find myself wondering where all the rest came from.It's a great tool, and I have found no negatives at all. And by the way, I have never used the do-dad that came with it for cleaning; I think I likely threw it out with the packing in 2003. I certainly have not missed it, however: cleaning is quick and simple, and especially so if you don't peel the garlic cloves beforehand.I'm not expecting this Zyliss press to go out for another decade or two, but when (if?) it does, I will immediately buy another Zyliss. It's a cut above what the competitors produce, and the price is absurdly low.

This little gizmo squeezes the bejeezsus out of small to medium-sized garlic cloves and after a month of using it mine still hasn't broken.However, the little plastic clean-up assist part that was included with mine promptly bit the dust after a few of the plastic pins misaligned with the garlic press holes and broke-off. Afterwards the plastic cleaning punch became useless. I'm back to using a small brush to clean the garlic press.Note that the promo says this unit minces garlic cloves without peeling; well, that is somewhat true but only if you're planning to mince only a couple of cloves of garlic before clean-up. Also, when you press an unpeeled clove it seems that the juices squirt out the back side (in my face!) almost as much as they do thru the die (holes). Solution: peel the cloves before mincing.