Toum is a powerful, creamy Lebanese garlic sauce renowned for its intense flavor and versatile use as a dip, spread, or condiment. Made from just a few simple ingredients, it forms a thick, stable emulsion that’s surprisingly easy to achieve with the right technique.
Toum: Creamy Lebanese Garlic Sauce
Toum is a powerful, creamy Lebanese garlic sauce renowned for its intense flavor and versatile use as a dip, spread, or condiment. Made from just a few simple ingredients, it forms a thick, stable emulsion that's surprisingly easy to achieve with the right technique.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh garlic cloves peeled (about 2 heads)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 0.5 cup fresh lemon juice divided
- 3 cup neutral oil like canola or grapeseed
- 0.25 cup ice water as needed (optional
Instructions
- Add peeled garlic cloves and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Process until the garlic is very finely minced and forms a paste, scraping down the sides as needed. This can take 2-3 minutes.
- With the food processor running on low speed, slowly drizzle in about 1/4 cup of lemon juice, a teaspoon at a time. Continue processing until the mixture is smooth and light.
- Now, begin to slowly drizzle in the neutral oil, a very thin stream, alternating with small additions of the remaining lemon juice. The key is to add the oil very, very gradually—almost drop by drop at the beginning—allowing the mixture to emulsify.
- Continue this process, alternating small additions of oil and lemon juice, until all the oil and lemon juice have been incorporated. The mixture should become very thick, white, and creamy, resembling mayonnaise. This step can take 15-20 minutes, so be patient.
- If the mixture becomes too thick to process, you can add a tablespoon or two of ice water to help loosen it, but be careful not to add too much.
- Once all the oil and lemon juice are incorporated and the toum is thick and glossy, taste and adjust salt if necessary. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. Toum will thicken further as it chills.
Notes
For best results, use fresh garlic. If your Toum breaks, you can sometimes rescue it by adding a tablespoon of ice water and processing again slowly, or starting a new batch with fresh garlic and slowly incorporating the broken sauce. Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature. Toum can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
