To obtain the maximum flavour potential from your freshly peeled garlic cloves you should always use a garlic press.
Chopping (even very finely) will not liberate all of the goodness nor the flavour. It is important to crush every cell in your garlic cloves to ensure the optimum availability of the flavour – making (and healthful) sulphur elements. The objective of crushing your garlic is to bring together two substances contained separately in every cell of the garlic clove.
These are called alliin (which contains all of garlic sulphurs) and allinase which converts the alliin on contact into allicin. The pungent garlic aroma which first arises when you crush garlic is the signal that you created allicin.
Your crushed garlic with its newly – created allicin is now ready for the pot – ready to make a host of different ” garlicky” flavour notes- and ready – if used wisely to provide real health benefits in you daily fare.