A viral Twitter video revealing “mind-blowing” new way to peel garlic has divided the internet

It might be delicious, but garlic is also irritating. Aside from the smell, which has a habit of sticking to clothes, fingers, hair, and pretty much everything else in the immediate vicinity, the endless smashing and peeling makes garlic prep one of the worst jobs in the kitchen. Hence, cooks have been looking for a way to make things easier for almost as long as the bulb has been on the menu.

Over the years, hundreds of different techniques have developed. Some swear by the top-and-tail, while others have invested vast sums in gadgets that look like they belong on the set of Star Wars. The fact that we still can’t agree on the right approach suggests that there are no easy answers. However, just when we were resigned to a lifetime of smelly fingers, a new viral video has emerged to put everything we thought we knew about garlic preparation into doubt.

The clip, which was shared by Twitter user @VpestilenZ, shows a woman rifling through an entire head of garlic, piercing bulbs with a sharp knife and removing them wholesale from their skin. No peeling. No mess. Just whole garlic cloves with none of the collateral. It is both extremely satisfying and potentially game changing.

Predictably, the internet completely exploded when the clip first appeared. One commenter wrote, “Not sure how I never knew about this. I lament when I consider how much more garlic I could have used during all these years had I only known of this technique,” while several shared Gifs emphasising how their minds had been collectively blown. Unsurprisingly, the clip has now been seen more than 15 million times and accrued over 300,000 likes.

However, despite all the excitement, it has also been suggested that the clip may not be all that it seems. Already, reporters from the Metro claim to have tried the technique and been unable to replicate it, while some Twitterers have stated that they have experienced similar results. All this casts doubt on whether the video is as revolutionary as it initially seemed.

On the other hand, the original tweet seems to be full of supportive comments from cooks who claim to have successfully attempted the technique for themselves. User @KaviMontanaro posted, “oh boy it’s real. I got it pretty quickly although not nearly as fast as you are,” which has in turn been liked over 700 times. He also suggested that it, “Seems like the knife needs to be not too thin and sharp,” implying that there may be more to the video than immediately meets the eye. Whatever the truth, it looks like being an exciting time to be a garlic fan.