Toum, or salsat toum, is a beautiful, white fluffy garlic sauce or dip common to Lebanon, Syria, and a few other neighboring countries.
Recipes and techniques vary from region to region, but I adapted Sohla El-Waylly’s recipe from Serious Eats, so my version will be Lebanese.
Using just four ingredients — garlic, oil, lemon juice, and salt — you’ll be able to whip this dish up in no time.
While it superficially resembles mayonnaise, it’s completely dairy-free. Packed with flavor from the copious amount of garlic, the first time we had it we couldn’t stop eating it, it was so delicious.
Not only is it tasty, but it’s also versatile. You can dip vegetables in it; you can have it on kebabs; you can have it as a spread; you can add a little bit on a salad as a topping; or you can thin it out and use it more like a dressing.
So get out your food processor and get ready to smash some garlic. It’s time to make toum!
Toum – Lebanese Whipped Garlic Sauce
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 C. garlic about 3 large heads
- 3 C. neutral flavored oil sunflower, safflower or canola oil
- 2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/4 C. lemon juice 1-2 large lemons
Instructions
- Place a head of garlic upside down (root side up) on the countertop and use the palms of both hands to crush and separate the cloves of garlic.
- Place the separated cloves into a heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water for 1 minute. Drain the garlic and remove the peels.
- Place the peeled garlic into the bowl of a food processor along with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and salt. Blend until finely chopped, periodically scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- With the food processor running, slowly drizzle a thin (1/8")stream of oil. It's crucial to add the oil in slowly or the toum will separate. Some food processors are equipped with an attachment that has a tiny hole just for this purpose. Stop periodically to scrap down the sides of the bowl.
- Once all the oil is incorporated the toum should have whipped consistency and a bright white color. Transfer the sauce to a clean quart-side container and store the refrigerator. It will keep for 4-6 weeks.
I’m going to try to make this as a gift for my wife, who hasn’t been able to find a steady source of toum in our city. This will be my first attempt at an emulsion, so a little nervous!
Is there a reason you omit the ice water in the original recipe? Is it just a question of consistency?
I did according to the recipe and it does not have the consistency of foam, the garlic separates from the oil 🙁
Hey Meg,
I plan to try this out too.
I suspect emmy chose to omit it based on the comment on the original recipe that indicates that the water addition can cause issues with the emulsion result.
“D santucci An_antelope • 5 months ago
The trick with this is truly the extremely slow drizzling of the oil. A hairlike stream. It should be fluffy about halfway through and continue as such. The video my relative sent me warned against ANY water coming in contact with it and the quantities were similar to this recipe, sans the water. “
Fabulous!!!!! First batch broke because I tried to add the full 3 cups of oil along with the heat from my food processor; I froze the resulting liquid and use it for cooking. Next batch was PERFECTION!
Love your videos! The ingredient list says 1/4 cup lemon juice but the directions say 2 tablespoons. Do I need the full 1/4 cup?
Thanks!
If your toum breaks, add the white from one egg and whip it up. Make sure that it’s an egg that is safe to eat raw. I make this using my immersion blender in small batches.
What a great recipe for Toum! I got the same foamy sauce… you must add oil in the finest stream possible. Once I saw the beginnings of emulsion, then I slowed down the rate that I added the oil. And added another tablespoon of lemon juice with the zest of one lemon, and a shake of ground cayenne. It is out of this world delicious!
I made this today using 6 small heads of garlic, no ice water. It became the proper consistency without the entire amount of oil, so I quit while I was ahead. O.M.G. Awesome.
was a fail for me … i make mayo all the time and love toum from living in the middle east … i think next time i will stick to mayo and add garlic
I’ve made this four times since watching your video. The second and third didn’t turn out right (too much lemon=watery & way too much garlic=inedible) I followed the recipe EXACTLY this time and it’s PERFECT!! My daughter said it brought back memories from her childhood when we used to buy it from a greek vendor at a local farmers market. I’m so happy right now!! Thank you!
What is the conclusion on the lemon juice? 2 TBS or 1/4 cup? Excited to try this!
Absolutely fantastic! I made a batch about 2 months ago and am going on a second batch soon as it is almost gone. Very easy to make using these very simple directions. I’ve been using it on anything and everything from sandwiches, veggie dip, and I’ve substituted it for mayo in sauces and dressings. It is extremely versatile. These instructions yielded me 2 Mason jars worth and it lasts a while in the fridge. Five 🌟!!!
In the original recipe that Emmy based it off of, they use 1/4 cup or 4 Tablespoons of the lemon juice, so that is what i have been going by and it works. Just thought to share for the ladies mentioning the issue.
Your nutritioncalculating is for how Big a portion?
How do you keep toum from being too spicy? The last time I made it, it turned out great, but had spiciness from the raw garlic, similar to horseradish. One recipe I saw suggested soaking the garlic beforehand, but I’m not sure I soaked it long enough. I love toum and want to try making it again but am hesitant to have a whole batch nearly inedible again.
I just stumbled across this recipe and I’m delighted! Love garlic, have to admit tho I’m a little apprehensive about it, “breaking”. I guess I’ll recognize it if I see ît but I thought I’d throw my 2c out there as a suggestion.
I’ve recently figured out the beautiful emulsifying properties of prepared mustard! I was always disappointed when I got to the bottom of my favorite Italian salad dressing and most of the seasonings were left behind in the bottle.
Enter mustard. Not much, just a drop, be sure to shake it well so you don’t get just a drop of vinegar, and the oil and vinegar mix so much better, and hang together so you can get it poured out.
Worked like a charm, spices remained suspended through the whole bottle.
So, I’m gonna go ahead and try this new garlic dish.
Thanks for the recipe!
I made the recipe as directed and they spread a lot 🙁