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In my youth I watched a TV chef explain that mushing garlic is bad because it would taste too strong. They (donβt quote me on this) either sliced it or used it whole. But then half a bulb. π€¦
Pickled garlic=Even sweeter.
"Surface area, Jerry!"
I would argue that the surface area of paste is less than the surface area of minced.
It's about the surface of the tiny garlic particles in the paste, not the surface of the blob of paste
I would love if recipe writers could form a consensus on what the terms "minced" or "crushed" mean when it comes to garlic.
Sometimes "minced" means finely chopped, while other times it means as a paste.
Some recipes use "crushed" to mean the paste, while other times that means to squash a clove with the flat of your knife so it cracks and the oil runs, but still leave whole.
You can normally work it out from context, but it really keeps you guessing.
Minced always means very very finely chopped. That's a mince; it's a preparation technique, not necessarily just for garlic.
Crushing, at least in the context of garlic, generally means using a garlic press (most common in western cooking) or using a mortar and pestle. You can also crush with the side of a knife, bottom of a glass, etc but that's a pretty rare method because you'll usually end up with large globs or chunks and it's very likely that people will get big ass mouthfuls of garlic, which most people don't like (I do like, but most don't)
I can't think of a time when I've seen a serious recipe call for crushing garlic in an uncontrolled manner like with the side of a knife. If you find a recipe that does so, just assume they mean to squeeze it in a press, unless in your judgement the recipe benefits from big clumps of garlic (mashed potatoes is a good example imo).
But yeah, it's either mince or press, if the recipe is unclear. I usually just press no matter what because I love garlic flavor and it's easier than a mince - not because the cutting is hard necessarily, but because it's extra cleaning of the knife, your hands, and cutting board takes more time. Easier to just rinse the press and toss it in the dishwasher.
Slicing is different, as is roasting the cloves.
I've been reading recipes for decades and have never encountered this problem.