Why Choosing Prepared Garlic is a ‘curb cut’ to greater accessibility in the kitchen

This piece is only loosely tech-related, but does fit nicely with the “curb cuts” theme.

Last night, I came across a video on YouTube (embedded below) from one of my favorite creators in Kenji López-Alt. He demonstrates various ways to prep garlic, as well as discusses whether prepared garlic—be it pre-peeled or pre-chopped—is worth one’s investment at the supermarket. López-Alt’s video is good as usual: informative and unpretentious. His takeaway on the prepped garlic options, however, is what inspired this article. López-Alt advises that, although pre-chopped garlic will work in recipes, he doesn’t recommend using it. It lacks the punchiness inherent to freshly-chopped garlic.

As someone who’s an ascribed lifelong foodie, and as someone who was accepted to culinary school many moons ago, I’m of two minds about López-Alt’s video. On one side, I get the predisposition to preferring fresh ingredients because the logic dictates fresher is better. There is no question peeling and chopping garlic will lend better flavor to dishes than any of the convenient alternatives—even the pre-peeled cloves, since as López-Alt notes, manufacturers first blanch the garlic to make the papery skin easier to remove. On the other side, however, what López-Alt’s recommendations (predictably) miss is, of course, accessibility. In a disability context, the reality is not every disabled person who likes to cook is able to prep garlic the “proper” way you learn at the aforementioned culinary school. Maybe someone has limited dexterity in their hands. Maybe they have low muscle tone. Maybe they’re arthritic. As to the pre-peeled garlic from well-known companies such as Christopher Ranch, I’ve given serious consideration to paying a premium for it at the grocery store due to my own lackluster fine-motor skills. While I intellectually know how to break apart the cloves from the head and get the skins off, my fingers—not to mention my low vision—oftentimes won’t cooperate in getting the mise en place all ready timely and efficiently. Thus, pre-peeled garlic would prove a more accessible alternative whilst still being a relatively fresh product. To choose it isn’t about laziness or taking a shortcut. It’s about accessibility.

Accessibility is crucial—and too often authorities like López-Alt just gloss over it.

Despite being a lifelong foodie, it’s always struck me how ableist the food industry writ large can be in its mindset. Chefs preaching the gospel about making everything homemade because it tastes better and it’s “easy” to do. Likewise, these same chefs write cookbooks and do television shows in which they claim “everyone” can make meals in 15 or 30 minutes. Again, the food nerd in me understands the messaging being telegraphed with both sentiments. The problem is, of course, these ideals utterly fail at acknowledging that (a) not everyone is literally able to prep and cook; and (b) more practically, not everyone has a kitchen wherein they can comfortably prep and cook their food. It’s not realistic; it’s predicated on the notion most people aren’t disabled.

And yet, disabled people are human and need to eat for sustenance like anyone else.

(To be clear, I’m not at all insinuating López-Alt is ableist. I’m saying the food world is.)

The fact of the matter is the ostensibly convenient pre-prepped garlic options that López-Alt explored are lifesavers in terms of accessibility. They may be the only option for disabled garlic lovers (like me). The tradeoff is clear—lesser flavor for usability’s sake—but those are the choices people must make because pre-prepped garlic is as inclusive as it is convenient. To put it in technological terms, using, for instance, the bags of pre-peeled garlic for accessibility is akin to using my Apple devices at maximum brightness. The obvious consequence of my choice is worse battery life, and I’m cognizant of such a Faustian bargain, but my vision requires the brightest screens in order for my iPhone and iMac to be accessible in everyday use. Period. Full stop. Fin.

Personally, I won’t ever buy jarred pre-chopped garlic—but someone else may need it!

But I’ll absolutely get the pre-peeled stuff for accessibility reasons, taste be damned.