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Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)

This egg-free Lebanese garlic sauce turns a small, cool garlic paste into a fluffy emulsion through patient additions of oil and lemon.

Fluffy white toum fills a chilled bowl with soft ridges and a small serving spoon.

Toum depends on garlic itself to hold oil in suspension, so the first task is making a paste fine enough to form a stable base. A dry blender jar, cool ingredients, and measured additions give the emulsion time to develop.

Begin with a fine garlic paste

Split each clove and remove any green germ when it is visible, then pulse the garlic with salt until no pieces remain. The smooth, sticky paste gives the oil a fine surface to bind to as it enters the blender.

Build slowly and keep it cool

The first oil goes in by the teaspoon so the garlic paste can thicken before the flow increases. Alternating small oil and lemon additions keeps the mixture moving while the blender runs, and a pause prevents friction from warming the sauce.

Pale garlic paste in a blender thickens as neutral oil is slowly incorporated. — Garlic paste begins to turn opaque as small additions of oil are blended in.

Bring a broken batch back

A separated or loose mixture usually needs a fresh starting point rather than faster blending. Blend a little reserved ice water in a clean jar, then feed the broken toum back gradually until it catches and becomes uniform.

Toum without egg

This version of toum uses no egg; finely processed garlic helps emulsify the oil with lemon and water. That differs from common egg-based aioli, where egg supplies the emulsifying base, though both sauces can be creamy and pungent.

A spoon trail shows the glossy, airy texture of finished white toum. — The finished toum is cool, bright white, fluffy, and thick enough to hold soft ridges.

Keep the pairing flexible

After a short chill, the sauce is ready to spoon as a dip or spread. It can accompany grilled vegetables, potatoes, or roasted meats, but its garlic flavor is complete on its own.

Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)

24 2-tablespoon servings

30 minutes total

Ingredients

• 1 cup peeled garlic cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3 cups neutral oil (grapeseed, sunflower, or canola)
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 tbsp ice-cold water, divided

Method

Prepare the garlic
Halve the peeled garlic cloves lengthwise and remove any green germ for a cleaner flavor. Keep the cloves and ice-cold water cold while you set up a dry high-speed blender.
Look for: The cloves are dry, split, and free of visible green centers.
Make a fine paste
Add the garlic and fine sea salt to the dry blender jar. Pulse, scrape the sides, and blend again until the garlic becomes a very fine, sticky paste with no visible pieces.
Look for: The paste clings to the jar and feels uniform rather than grainy.
Moisten the paste
With the blender running at medium-high speed, add 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp ice-cold water. Blend until the paste is smooth and pale, then scrape down once without letting the jar warm.
Look for: The garlic paste looks creamy and the blender jar still feels cool.
Start the emulsion
Keep the blender running and add the first 1/4 cup neutral oil a teaspoon at a time, letting each addition disappear before the next. This slow start builds the stable base that will hold the remaining oil.
Look for: The garlic paste turns opaque and begins to gather into a smooth, thick emulsion.
Alternate oil and lemon
Once the emulsion holds, alternate 3 tbsp neutral oil with 1 tsp lemon juice, adding each in small portions and waiting until smooth before the next. Repeat until the remaining lemon juice is incorporated and the sauce stays thick and white.
Look for: Each small addition disappears completely and the sauce does not turn translucent or runny.
Finish with the oil
With the blender still running, pour the remaining neutral oil in a very thin, steady stream. Pause if the jar starts to feel warm, then resume once cool; the toum should become fluffy and hold soft ridges.
Look for: The finished toum is bright white, airy, and thick enough to keep soft ridges.
Cool and adjust
Blend in 1 tbsp ice-cold water a teaspoon at a time to cool and soften the sauce, stopping when it is fluffy and spoonable. Keep the last tablespoon cold for a texture adjustment or to restart a broken emulsion.
Look for: The sauce is cool, smooth, and holds a spoon trail without looking oily.
Rescue and chill
If the emulsion breaks, transfer it out, blend 1 tsp of the reserved ice-cold water in a clean blender jar, then feed the broken toum back a teaspoon at a time until it catches before adding the rest in a thin stream. Otherwise, use the reserved water only if needed to loosen the sauce, then cover and chill for 10 minutes before serving.
Look for: A rescued batch becomes uniformly white again; a stable batch is chilled and spoonable.