Toum — Lebanese Garlic Sauce with Oil and Lemon
Real toum is four ingredients: garlic, salt, oil and lemon juice. The trick is adding the oil drop by drop with the blender running, exactly as you would for mayonnaise. Pour the oil in all at once and the sauce splits, and it will not come back on its own.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- —
- Total
- 15 min
- Calories
- 180
Toum is not a garlic dip — it's an emulsion, like mayonnaise without the egg. That's why most people fail at it: they add the oil all at once, it splits, and you're left with oil floating on garlic. The method below works first time if you follow the order.
Method
-
1
Prepare the garlic
Remove the green germ from the centre of each clove — that's what gives the bitterness and the harsh burn. Blend the garlic with the salt until it forms a smooth paste on the sides of the jug.
⏱ 5 min -
2
The first quarter cup of oil
With the blender on its lowest speed, pour in the first quarter cup of oil drop by drop — literally one drop after another. This is the critical step: the emulsion forms here.
⏱ 4 min -
3
The rest of the oil
Once the mixture has turned white and thickened, add the remaining oil in a thin steady stream. If you stop, start again with drops.
⏱ 5 min -
4
The lemon
Add the lemon juice a spoon at a time, alternating with the last quarter cup of oil. The lemon stabilises the sauce and brings the acidity.
⏱ 1 min -
5
Rest
Transfer to a glass jar, seal it, and chill for two hours before serving — the texture firms up and the raw garlic edge softens.
Cooked it? Rate it
Your rating tells the next cook whether this recipe is worth their time.
✓ Thanks — your rating is in.
Tips that actually matter
- Olive oil turns toum bitter. Use a neutral oil such as sunflower or corn.
- If it splits: put a fresh garlic clove in a clean jug, blend it, and add the split sauce back to it drop by drop. It comes together again.
- The garlic must be fresh and not sprouting. Old garlic tastes acrid.
- It keeps two weeks in a sealed jar in the fridge.
People also ask
Why does toum split?
Because the oil went in too fast. An emulsion needs the oil to enter gradually so it disperses as tiny droplets through the water phase. Poured in at once, the droplets merge and it separates.
Can I make it with mayonnaise?
Yes — blend a cup of mayonnaise with 6 crushed garlic cloves and a spoon of lemon juice. It isn't real toum, but it works when you're in a hurry and it never splits.
Why does mine taste harsh?
Either the garlic was sprouting (remove the green germ) or the blender ran fast enough to heat the garlic. Low speed and fresh garlic fix both.
Cook mode
Toum — Lebanese Garlic Sauce with Oil and Lemon
-
1
Prepare the garlic
Remove the green germ from the centre of each clove — that's what gives the bitterness and the harsh burn. Blend the garlic with the salt until it forms a smooth paste on the sides of the jug.
-
2
The first quarter cup of oil
With the blender on its lowest speed, pour in the first quarter cup of oil drop by drop — literally one drop after another. This is the critical step: the emulsion forms here.
-
3
The rest of the oil
Once the mixture has turned white and thickened, add the remaining oil in a thin steady stream. If you stop, start again with drops.
-
4
The lemon
Add the lemon juice a spoon at a time, alternating with the last quarter cup of oil. The lemon stabilises the sauce and brings the acidity.
-
5
Rest
Transfer to a glass jar, seal it, and chill for two hours before serving — the texture firms up and the raw garlic edge softens.
Comments
Cooked it? Tell us how it went, or ask a question — we read every comment.