Toum is a garlic sauce. And it has a reputation that precedes it — intensely garlicky, cloud-light, and startlingly white, with a texture close to whipped mayonnaise. At a glance, you’d never associate it with raw garlic. For anyone who hasn't tried it, the appeal can be hard to picture. For anyone who has, a jar in the fridge tends to become a kitchen staple.

Toum (the word simply means "garlic" in Arabic) originates in Lebanese cuisine, where it was created as a way to preserve and concentrate the flavor of garlic into a stable, spreadable condiment. Unlike aioli, which relies on egg yolks for emulsification, traditional toum is emulsified using only garlic, oil, lemon juice, and salt — a technique that requires patience, since the oil must be added gradually to raw garlic that's been pounded or blended into a paste.

The result is an emulsion that's almost entirely garlic and oil, giving it a much more assertive flavor than garlic aioli or garlic mayonnaise. It’s a fixture at Lebanese tables, traditionally served alongside grilled meats, particularly chicken.

Toum is a sauce built for grilling, where its sharp, pungent brightness cuts through rich, charred meat. It's commonly drizzled over chicken skewers, rotisserie chicken, or kebabs, but it's just as good spooned over grilled lamb, beef, or fish.

Its versatility extends well past grilling, though. It makes an excellent sandwich spread, adding punch to a simple chicken or vegetable wrap in place of mayonnaise. Swirled into hummus or used as a dip for pita, raw vegetables, or fries, it adds a garlic kick that plain garlic powder can't match. It can also be whisked into salad dressings, stirred into soups just before serving, or used as a marinade base for chicken or vegetables before roasting.

Caution, however. As you can imagine, a little goes a long way. Because toum is so concentrated, a small spoonful is often enough to transform an entire large dish.

It keeps well in the refrigerator for weeks, making it a practical make-ahead condiment rather than a one-time garnish. For anyone who loves garlic, toum offers a way to enjoy it in its purest, boldest form — not as a background note, but as the entire point.

In summary, here are a few things to note about this unique condiment:

·         Fresh, firm garlic with the germ removed gives toum a bold, smooth flavor without bitterness.

·         Because it’s basically a paste, you want to use the best garlic you can find—don’t skimp.

·         Blending the garlic into a smooth paste releases natural emulsifiers that stabilize the sauce without eggs.

·         Slowly streaming in the oil ensures a stable, fluffy toum without greasiness.

·         Alternating the addition of oil with small amounts of lemon juice and water keeps the emulsion from breaking.

·         The “germ” is just the sprout that runs down the middle of the clove of garlic.

Now for those of you bold enough to try this bold sauce, here’s a tried-and-true recipe from www.seriouseats.com. It takes about 20 minutes to make and gives you about 32 servings. (P.S. It probably makes good sense to have breath mints handy—just sayin’.)

TOUM--Lebanese Garlic Sauce

Yield: 1 quart

Ingredients:

1 cup garlic cloves
2 teaspoons kosher salt (for table salt, use 1 teaspoon)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons), divided
1/4 cup ice water divided
3 cups neutral oil (such as grapeseed or canola oil), divided

Directions:

Using a paring knife, split each garlic clove in half lengthwise. With the tip of the knife, remove the germ from each garlic clove half.

FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD: Place the de-germed garlic and kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse garlic in short bursts until finely minced, occasionally removing the lid to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a flexible rubber spatula. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and continue processing until a paste begins to form. Add another tablespoon lemon juice and process until completely smooth and slightly fluffy.

With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup oil in a very thin stream, followed by 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Repeat with another 1/2 cup oil and remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Continue the process, alternating 1/2 cup oil and 1 tablespoon water, until all the oil and water have been incorporated. Transfer toum to a container and store in the fridge for up to 1 month.

MORTAR AND PESTLE METHOD: Depending on the size of your mortar, you may need to make the recipe in smaller batches, halving or quartering the ingredient amounts. In the mortar, combine garlic and salt and grind until it becomes a smooth paste. Work oil into paste 1 teaspoon at a time. After adding 1 tablespoon oil, work in a few drops of lemon juice. Repeat until all the oil, lemon juice, and water have been incorporated.

NOTES:

For the ideal light and fluffy texture, stick with either the food processor or mortar-and-pestle method described here. Trying to make the toum in a blender or with an immersion blender will result in a thin and dense texture closer to that of a mayonnaise or dressing than traditional toum.

If the emulsion breaks, it can easily be brought back together with the help of an egg white. Combine 1 egg white with 1/4 cup of the broken emulsion in the bowl of a food processor until fluffy. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the remaining broken emulsion.

Toum may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.