Toum
Toum is a Lebanese garlic sauce whipped into a fluffy white emulsion with just garlic, lemon juice, oil, and salt. It pairs with grilled chicken, shawarma, falafel, or roasted vegetables and keeps in the fridge for weeks.
Ingredients
- 100 ggarlic
- 60 mllemon juice
- 360 mlvegetable oil
- 1 tspsalt
Method
- Peel the garlic cloves and trim off any green sprouts from the center — they taste bitter. Drop all the garlic into a food processor with the salt and blend for about 1 minute until the garlic becomes a smooth paste, scraping down the sides once.
- With the motor running, add about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and process for 15 seconds until incorporated.
- Now begin adding the vegetable oil in a very thin, steady stream — no wider than a toothpick. This is the most important step. The emulsion forms only if the oil goes in slowly. Pour about 60 ml of oil over 1–2 minutes while the processor runs continuously.
- Stop the motor and add another tablespoon of lemon juice. Process for 10 seconds, then resume drizzling oil in a thin stream. Alternate between small additions of lemon juice and slow streams of oil until both are used up.
- The toum is ready when it is bright white, fluffy, and holds stiff peaks like whipped cream. Taste and adjust salt. Transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving — it thickens and mellows as it chills.
FAQ
Toum breaks when oil is added too quickly. The emulsion depends on garlic's natural lecithin binding with oil in tiny droplets — if you pour too fast, the droplets merge and the sauce separates. Always add oil in a stream no wider than a toothpick. Other common causes: warm garlic (use room temperature or slightly cool), too little garlic relative to oil, or a blender instead of a food processor. If it breaks, add one ice cube and keep processing — the cold shock helps the emulsion re-form in about 30 seconds.
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Comments (1)
Let this toum rest for at least 30 minutes after making it. The garlic and lemon juice need time to meld. Fresh-from-the-blender always tastes sharper and less cohesive than the rested version.