The Best Oil For Toum And How To Mix It Perfectly

An ultra-garlicky toum can elevate a meal to new levels. A smear on a sheet-pan chicken shawarma wrap, a dollop on a balanced grain bowl, or served alongside Greek-style pita bread or crispy sweet potato fries, this fluffy Lebanese garlic sauce is something you want to have in your kitchen arsenal. Essentially an emulsion of garlic, lemon, and oil, toum isn't too dissimilar from an aioli, but it doesn't require an egg to hold it together. You also don't want to rely solely on olive oil when making toum like you would with other dips, as the flavor of the garlic needs to shine through.

Wissam Baki, the executive chef at Amal Miami, told Tasting Table that a mixture of oils works best to allow this to happen. "The best oil to use to make toum is to blend olive oil with vegetable oil: 75% vegetable, 25% olive oil," he said. "To get the best texture we use sunflower oil or vegetable oil."

Emulsions can be tricky, and the oil needs to be added very slowly to ensure they don't break. Toum is traditionally made with a mortar and pestle, but most people use a food processor or blender. Chef Baki recommends adding the oil to toum only after the rest of the ingredients have been mixed. "The best way is to add oil after mixing all the ingredients (garlic, lemon, salt)," he said. "Add the oil to the mixer in a speed blend like string and pour slowly to get the consistent texture."

If the toum seems too runny or warm, don't panic: Some ice should do the trick. And there are lots of ways to fix a broken sauce. The most important thing to remember is to not rush the process. "Adding ice during the process helps make it thicker and avoids heating the mixture," he said. "Take the time to prep it and not rush the steps."