Toum (Lebanese Garlic Sauce)

Toum is a bright, fluffy garlic emulsion built slowly in a high-speed blender with cold water, lemon, and neutral oil.

30 min

24 2-tablespoon servings

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

High-speed blender · Flexible spatula · Measuring spoons · Small chilled bowl

If it separates

A clean blender jar and a small fresh base of cold water can catch the sauce again; feed the broken mixture back slowly.

Serve chilled

Toum is ready as a dip or spread; pairings such as grilled vegetables or roasted meat are optional.

01. Split the peeled garlic and remove green germ; keep the cloves and water cold while setting up a dry blender.

02. Pulse garlic with fine sea salt, scraping as needed, until the paste is sticky and completely fine.

03. Blend in lemon juice and cold water until the garlic paste is creamy, then scrape down once.

04. Add the first oil very slowly, teaspoon by teaspoon; wait for each addition to disappear so the paste turns opaque.

05. Alternate small portions of oil and lemon, blending each smooth before adding the next to keep the emulsion stable.

06. Pour the last oil in a thin stream; pause if the blender jar feels warm, then continue once cool.

07. Blend in cold water gradually until fluffy and spoonable, saving a little to adjust the texture or restart the emulsion.

08. For a broken batch, start with reserved cold water and feed the sauce back slowly; cover and chill before serving.