The History of the Garlic Press

The modern garlic press was invented by Karl Zysset in 1948. Zysset owned a bicycle repair shop in Lyss, Switzerland, so it’s no surprise that his design for a garlic press closely resembled the hand brakes on a bike. When his garlic press took off, Zysset closed his bicycle repair shop and founded a company called Zyliss to make and sell his garlic press. One of the earliest models was known as the Susi. (Zyliss remains in business today and still produces a descendant of Zysset’s Susi garlic press.) Julia Child was a famous fan of Zysset’s garlic press, although in the last few decades, many celebrity chefs have spoken out against garlic presses. Despite this, garlic presses remain very popular among home chefs today.