Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty? 4

[rawSmith]

Hello everyone. I have a kitchen utensil, mainly garlic press but it looks and feels not durable compared to the one you can find in store which feels heavy and durable in hands. I have a doubt that mine is made of stainless steel because doesn't look as smooth. I could show picture if you could tell me type of material but at this time I wanted to know abiut difference between stainless steel and zinc alloy materials. What is better from quality and durability standpoint? Is zinc alloy material or just plating and what material is more valuable? Thanks.

 

[EdStainless]

Zn die casting alloys are a great, relatively inexpensive way to make high volume parts.
Some of the alloys are fairly strong, but nothing like a stainless steel.
I really doubt that it is stainless.
There is a wide range of die cast alloys.
Castability, density, strength, and appearance are all a function of the alloy and process selected.

While it might be nice to make the tool in stainless, it may be too difficult and the price may be far too high.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Plymouth Tube

 

[CoryPad]

Either material can be used for these parts, and it takes careful design for either to be successful.


Here is a garlic press from Ikea that uses stainless steel handles and zinc castings for the ram and holder.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00089163/

Here is another one with both stainless and zinc components:

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/oxo-steel-garlic-press/s669415

This high-end one uses all stainless construction:

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/prod...ODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules

And one more that is all zinc:

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/prod...ODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules

 

[tbuelna]

Nice job CoryPad with the in-depth consumer product research! I hope rawSmith(OP) appreciates your effort.

Looking at the garlic press designs you linked, it was interesting to see how much more emphasis designers of consumer products seem to place on aesthetics versus performance. Being a mechanical design engineer I thought the Rosle design, with its all stainless steel construction and compound linkage, was far superior to the other three. But unlike the other three designs, it did not appear that any special effort was made with the Rosle press to make it aesthetically appealing.

I don't do any serious cooking, but if I did I would look at a garlic press the same way as the tools I use in my workshop. Always buy the best tool available regardless of price. I have never regretted paying extra for a very high quality tool that works well. It always gives me a feeling of satisfaction when I use a well designed high-quality tool, and it usually aggravates me when I use a cheap, poorly designed tool.

If I were looking to purchase a garlic press, I would gladly pay the extra $25 for the Rosle press. So to answer the question in the OP, in my opinion stainless steel offers a better value.

Interesting topic.
Terry

 

[rawSmith]

There is a wide range of die cast alloys.
Castability, density, strength, and appearance are all a function of the alloy and process selected.

While it might be nice to make the tool in stainless, it may be too difficult and the price may be far too high.

So you say that knowing that certain product is made of zinc is not enough because factors like castability, density and strength must be considered? Is this why situations where 2 identical looking items have same zinc alloy but differ in quality? Well that explains discrepancy between manufacturing batches resulting in low-quality or increased product failures.

Either material can be used for these parts, and it takes careful design for either to be successful.

Thanks! So referencing my reply to @EdStainless, I was wrong thinking quality of material is what makes or breaks product and actually it is how it is designed?

Let's talk about garlic presses. They have one pivot point - rivet which absorbs all the leverage in order for ram to squeeze garlic:

According to your statement, whether "part 1" is made of zinc or stainless steel does not matter because what matters is design?

By the way, here is a picture of garlic press I have and I think it is fully made of zinc. Am I right?

Nice job CoryPad with the in-depth consumer product research! I hope rawSmith(OP) appreciates your effort.

Of course!

Looking at the garlic press designs you linked, it was interesting to see how much more emphasis designers of consumer products seem to place on aesthetics versus performance. Being a mechanical design engineer I thought the Rosle design, with its all stainless steel construction and compound linkage, was far superior to the other three. But unlike the other three designs, it did not appear that any special effort was made with the Rosle press to make it aesthetically appealing.

Sadly, today image is everything. Beats headphones is a good validation.

I don't do any serious cooking, but if I did I would look at a garlic press the same way as the tools I use in my workshop. Always buy the best tool available regardless of price. I have never regretted paying extra for a very high quality tool that works well. It always gives me a feeling of satisfaction when I use a well designed high-quality tool, and it usually aggravates me when I use a cheap, poorly designed tool.

Interesting topic.
Terry

Me too, you know? There's a big difference when philips drillbit is made of chrome vanadium versus ... I don't know that material but after a week you will see your drillbit's edges getting bent. Screwdriver that had this one I have bought for $1

Nice to hear this topic is interesting. By the way, I assume you guys are familiar with wine bottle stoppers? There are those that have crystal form made of "K9 Crystal material" (optical borocilicate glass I think) decoration, then there are those that have glass material (imitated Murano glass). I would appreciate if you could tell me the name of forum here where I could discuss about this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[dgallup]

I find all garlic presses ineffective and hard to clean. I was given a garlic shredder a few years ago and it is a much better device. This isn't exactly the one I have but it's similar.

http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/...r-dicer-chopper-kitchen-tools-accessories.jpg

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The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

 

[CoryPad]

Regarding part 1, it does matter what the part is made with. Either zinc or stainless steel can be made to work if several factors are controlled (material composition, microstructure, geometry, etc.).

Your press does appear to be all zinc.

Regarding your questions about K9 Crystal and Murano glass, try Forum326 or Forum329.

 

[arunmrao]

A simple idea, is to use mortar and pestle, commonly found in most kitchens in India.

I have tried several of these press, but none close to the traditional mortar and pestle. The aroma and flavour is retained with no metal contamination.

http://mideastfood.about.com/od/glossary/g/mortarpestle.htm

I'm just one step away from being rich, all I need now is money.
( read somewhere on the internet)

 

[rawSmith]

@arunmrao

Hi. This is wooden mortar and pestle you provided link for. Is wooden better than ceramic?

 

[Maui]

rawSmith, if you look at the figure caption in arunmrao's link you'll see that the mortar and pestle that are shown here are made of stone, not wood.

Maui

 

[1gibson]

On the subject of alternate solutions, I mostly use elephant garlic. Very large cloves, average around 2/3 the size of a golf ball, most cloves won't even fit in a garlic press. Mince with a kitchen knife that has a little butter on the blade to reduce sticking. It can be mild compared to "normal" garlic, so you use a little more than the recipe calls for. Knife skills are a must have for cooking anyway, and knives easy to clean.

I use my garlic press for fresh ginger, zinc alloy with stainless trim, rubberized handles. I'm not much for aesthetics. As far as hand tools go, usually the heavier the better.

Never liked the mortar and pestle for wet ingredients, but I can see that working well.

 

[racookpe1978]

Will she-who-must-be-obeyed get upset if I bring in either of my 16 oz regular hammers, or should I use the heavier 24 oz sledge hammer to squish garlic? 8<)