Garlic was once thought of as the seasoning of the gods. Now it's often referred to as the "Queen of the Kitchen" because there are over 450 known varieties of garlic, and it is one of the oldest and most widely used food flavorings on earth, called for in over 75% of savory recipes worldwide.

Versatile, easy to use, and always utterly delicious, we think you'd struggle to find a savory dish that wouldn't benefit from a little dash of garlic. Yet, even though garlic is incredibly hardy, flavorful, healthful, and useful, it's actually fairly easy to misuse unknowingly. In fact, there are plenty of different ways to get garlic wrong in the kitchen, and succumbing to some common pitfalls could dampen its effect on your dish to the point that you might as well have never used it at all.

Here are three basic, quick ways, ordered from fastest to slowest, to "peel" a clove without resorting to any fancy gadgets:

1. Closely trim the root and tip ends off the garlic clove. Put it on a cutting board that doesn't slip around much, or directly on a solid table or counter top. Grab your chef's knife and place the flat side of the blade on top of the clove with the sharp edge facing away from you. With your palm flat and fingers extended safely out of the way of the sharp edge of the knife, place the heel of your hand on the blade of the knife near the handle. Press down firmly but carefully on the knife with the heel of your hand until you feel or hear a slight crack or pop. This will crush the garlic a little and loosen the skin so you can take it off with zero effort and prepare it as desired.

2. Closely trim the tip end off the garlic clove, then partially slice the root end off. The skin will partially tear away, making the rest of the clove easy to peel.

3. About 30 minutes before it's needed, losely trim the tip end off the garlic clove, then partially slice the root end off. Place the clove in a bowl of cool water. The skins should peel away from the cloves a little easier after a little soak.